Rock Man EXE: Corruption
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to Vacations: Reloaded. Netto & co. are already Class 2 - A students and no big deal seems to be going on until the Z - Nation jumps into the stage by starting to chase something secretive and highly dangerous which could spell dramatic consequences for the Network society. However, there will also be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes... Rated M for lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Attack of the 80s

**Rock Man EXE: Corruption**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: Attack of the 80s**

17:35 PM (Japan Time), Friday September the 30th, 2011…

"… Alright, class! This is all for today but don't forget homework! And, Ooyama – kun!"

"Yes, _sensei_?"

"Don't forget to write your name on the homework documents and do try to improve your writing a bit: it's like I had to decipher Hieroglyphs. Do you get me?"

"Yes, _sensei_…"

"Hah! See? Saw it coming a mile away!"

"Heh. Good insight, Yaito – chan."

"Oi, Tooru! It must be hard to bear with their plots, right?"

"More or less, Hiro – kun…"

"Huff. Let's hope someone can keep Meiru controlled or Hell will break loose. You know what I mean, right, Saito – niisan?"

"Obviously…"

"Man. Everyone despises me…"

The students of the 2 – A class had begun to chatter as they started to pack and one teacher had reminded Ooyama Dekao of his defects: he sighed while Sakurai Meiru and Ayanokouji Yaito laughed at it.

"Cheer up, Hikawa Tooru! I'll treat ya to ice-cream."

"Thanks, Akashi Hiro – kun. I get nervous every time Sakurai – san calls me to have me hang with her and Ayanokouji – san…"

"No wonder…"

Akashi Hiro struck as being slightly over a meter and fifty tall or close to it: he had jet black hair which was totally messy while his eyes' irises were blue.

"Guys! Let's move out!"

"We're gonna miss the 2:22 PM express to Oklahoma." Saito rallied them with a grin.

"Huh? When did ya come up with that, Saito – niisan?" Netto asked with obvious surprise.

"Ask Train Man, Netto – kun."

"Whatever… Stop being so moody."

"So cheerful, ya mean?"

"Whatever."

"Whatever the ever."

"Jeez."

The group headed for the lobby and changed their shoes for the street shoes before picking up their Link PETs from the lockers: Saito had his own one colored green and blue while Hiro's was colored red and white and had a silver lowercase _delta_ character painted as emblem.

"Yo! Delta Team! What's up? Did Red Sword ask ya out or what?" He snickered.

"Jeez. Hiro – kun. That joke is outdated. Totally." His Navi replied with some annoyance.

"Did ya tell Ookarada to book Dr. Who's Awesome Diet of Silliness by the way?"

"Wha~t?" Dekao growled.

"Guts?"

"And stop with the "Delta Team" thing, too. I'm Delta! End of story"

Delta's main body color was jet black.

His forearms, boots, shoulder plates, rear-pack and helmet were painted silver.

His emblem was the same _delta_ character set on his chest and ear-pads:

The central part of his helmet had a murkier silver color to it plus two rectangles and one band cutting across it starting at the back: some jet black hair came out from behind the helmet as well.

His face looked strikingly similar to Rock Man's although he had some slight differences regarding the eyes' irises (which were blue) and the shape of his cheek bones.

Overall, he looked extremely similar to Rock Man and seemed to be around his height as well.

"Desu! Good afternoon, Tooru – kun! Chisao – kun is going out with your little sister, desu!" Ice Man reported.

"Ah. Alright, al… Wait. Did you say my _little sister_? I have no little sister anywhere at all!" Hikawa uttered in disbelief.

"Huh? Desu… Strange, desu, this mail came from Chisao – kun himself, it says… ookaradachisao livinginhell com…"

"Huh? Is there a mail server named "livinginhell" whatever it means to begin with? And why would he use the nickname instead of his surname…?" Hikawa frowned.

"Forte's back at trolling." Saito annoyingly muttered.

"The mail server name is a joke… living in hell can translate as _jigoku ni sunderu_… That email's a prank, alright." Delta grumbled.

"Eh… Meiru – chan! We're in trouble!" Roll gasped.

"Why?"

"The Navi – Eating Virus is at loose! Someone tried to recreate Pac-Man outta the game and now it's eating Navis out there!"

"By all the…!" Meiru uttered.

"It's terrible, Yaito – sama! I barely escaped it but it swallowed ten Viruses and grew larger!" Glyde exclaimed.

"No way!" Yaito uttered.

"Who the hell came up with that?" Dekao cursed.

"Guts, guts! Guts Man saw it, too! It was chanting, too!"

"Chanting?"

"Gutsu… Eh… How was that again…?" He trailed off.

"It was saying something weird… "Onaagon Onaagis!"… But it doesn't exist in Japanese unless it's another foreign idiom."

"Huh… Guys? What's going on?"

"Oh! Tomono Noa – kun… Well…" Netto greeted.

Tomono Noa was a student having greenish messy hair and bluish eyes: he appealed as being as tall as Netto as well.

"I come from checking a question with the Math teacher and you're all here like there's something going on."

"Ask Rafael." Netto rolled his eyes.

Tomono frowned but he opened his locker and changed his shoes before picking a green and black Link PET: its emblem was two triangles missing the base and being intercrossed plus three round dots on the middle of the formation and to the sides of it: the whole set was colored bronze and set against a navy blue background.

"Rafael… Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Well… Pac – Man got loose."

"Pac – Man? That game from the 80s?"

"Yeah. Someone had the bright idea to try to recreate it inside of the Cyber World and now it's running loose."

Rafael's man body color was black and he struck as being around the same height as Delta yet he was shorter then Glyde by about 8~9 centimeters and Guts Man obviously overcame him in height.

His face had a hard-to-spot scar in the shape of the Alphabet letter "X" drawn above the nose: his eyes' irises were green and he looked youthful: spiked brown hair came out from behind the helmet.

His head was encompassed within a helmet having a copy of his emblem set on the forehead with a metallic rim: the forehead piece was colored red while the rear part was black: a red stripe extended from the forehead and through the middle of the helmet while heading towards the rear: the sides of his helmet had white armor constructed over them: a small cavity housed the ear-pads from where a red stripe originated and was drawn across it until the end: the helmet design also included two small yellow pieces extending until the edge of the lower jaw.

His chest armor had the emblem set on its middle: three parallel red lines were drawn over its upper edge and extended past the neck's base and apparently until his back: the segment below the emblem was colored yellow and it included a red stripe on the center which extended until the edge of the chest armor.

His shoulders had the shape of a red triangle drawn on their upper face while their main color was black: a thin round yellow stripe was present just where the arms began.

His arms' skin was also gray in this spot yet it soon got covered by black armor having a metallic piece of the elbow colored in a thicker shade of gray: the armor extended until the wrists where a trapeze-shaped piece of armor originated: his hands were covered in white "gloves" as well like most Net Navis.

Two thin red stripes ran down the unarmored gray-skinned body until the waist where another piece of armor was present: it had the general shape of briefs underwear and the color of choice was black as well.

Yet another red stripe ran down the center of it and curved to continue towards the rear.

One gun-belt colored silver was attached on the waist and had holsters for two guns which looked like modified handguns colored purple and having a white muzzle.

His boots began over the knees and extended until the feet: the color of choice was black again and there also was a red stripe running down the length of them across the center: the outer sides of each one had a white-colored triangle-shaped cavity which included a lower gray edge and a red stripe running down the rightmost edge: his heels' armor was metallic gray in color as well.

Lastly, two white triangle-like extensions protruded from the rear of his body and extended diagonally towards the ground in a SE direction.

Overall, he looked heavily customized and cool.

"Who'd do that?" Tomono wondered.

"A die-hard fan which was lazy and programmed that on a rush without thinking of the consequences, surely…" Rafael sighed.

"Kya~h! Pac – Man has broken through the firewall!" Someone shrieked in the background.

"No way!" Everyone gasped.

"Bad, bad boy. You shouldn't have tried to eat my cool cloak, did you know that? I'm gonna strike back at you for this…"

"Grrrrr…"

"Whoa! Forte and "Gospel Jr." came!" Netto gasped.

"Say, when was that thing firstly spotted?"

"Around two hours ago… It showed up out of the blue in Internet City's still-under-construction 5th district…" Roll reported.

"Looks too convenient to be an accident if you ask my opinion…"

"You guys. What have you done now?"

"Whoa! Enzan!"

Ijuuin Enzan stepped into the hall while carrying his Link PET and holding out an ID card which read "ONBA Ace Net Battler Ijuuin Enzan" on it as if stating why he'd bothered to come here: he had that classical "nothing-impresses-me" face on.

"Look! We'd just finished classes, we got to know about this Pac-Man thing, and now it broke here! It's not like we're to blame!" Hiro protested to him.

"I didn't ask for your POV, Akashi." He merely replied.

"By all the… Is he always like that?" Hiro asked Netto.

"Yeah. That's how I met him over two years ago."

"Enzan – sama! This program certainly looks hostile and is "devouring" data while growing in size, yet…" Blues reported but trailed off as if he'd found out something else.

"Yet?"

"Yet… I made it eat a Mettool with a sensor attached to it and what it really does inside is classify data… And there seems to be an encoded signal exchange… It's being controlled in live, sir… In short, sir: it grows in strength and size yet the Navis and Viruses are "stored" inside of cavities as compressed data." Blues reported.

"Then it's no silliness. This is a well-programmed job. We can't go the usual approach and just delete it: we need to retrieve the Navis' data at the very least." Enzan muttered.

"Maybe "Gospel Jr." can catch that thing's attention and strike at it while we have the chance?" Forte suggested.

"It could work. What do you think of it, sir?"

"Well. Forte's power is nothing to be looked down upon, so… I don't mind it." Enzan replied.

"Onaagon Onaagis!"

"That rings a bell." Saito muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… So? Do you like my little pet? Did you feel like you were waiting for something to happen? No more! Wait's over. Here you have a pilot episode of my new show." A voice rang out with obvious amusement.

"Who goes there?" Forte questioned.

"My, my. Maybe if you call me the "Bringer of Doom" you would be able to tie the plot-holes together?"

"Bringer of Doom? Z – Nation? R – Nation?"

"None. I work on my own."

"Wait a minute, you! Aren't you Proto's thief and Serenade's hacker, the one who acted over a month ago?" Forte grasped.

"Yeah. If you had been paying attention to my pet then you'd gotten my name straight away. Mirror."

"Mirror?" Noa frowned.

"By all the… I see! Onaagon Onaagis is the mirrored version of Sigaano Nogaano! And that's that guy's alias!" Saito cursed.

"Good catch, Hikari Sr.!"

"Senior? Take that back, you!" Saito grumbled.

"Maybe I'll wait until Amazon takes orders again."

"This guy is nuts or what?" Yaito complained.

"Dunno." Dekao muttered.

"Pac – Man! Sing them the Destruction Song! We all die in 3 turns' time once the counters reach 0!"

"Isn't that a technique from _Pocket Monsters_? How unoriginal, really. He could've come up with something else." Delta grumbled.

"So that guy's a copycat."

"Take this, Pac – Man rip – off! Hell's Buster! Hell's Rolling! Spit it out!"

"Grrrr!"

"Delta Ray Edge!"

The sounds of a battle rang out yet the sound which was louder was the pitched shriek of the giant Pac – Man and the growls of "Gospel Jr." which sounded like it was filling the thing with cuts.

"Good! Dark Arm Blade! Let's make a hole and take the Navi data out so you can then delete it!" Forte instructed.

"Ms. Lucy is waiting for you and Mr. T. D. tonight at 20:00 PM for a two-hour session in her club, Enzan – sama, sir." Blues announced.

"Yeah. I'll go right after the debriefing and… Wait. I don't know any Ms. Lucy and I dunno who "T. D." is!" Enzan distractedly began to reply before gasping upon realizing.

"That wasn't me, sir! The "Eye", sir!"

"The "Eye"…? You mean that "Eye of Mordor" hologram thing? The culprit imitated your voice?"

"There's no way I'm going to such a place with a guy like him…" Delta annoyingly whispered to Hiro.

"Ah… So you're waiting for me to make the first step forward?" Hiro whispered back with a grin.

"Jeez. Let's talk that later at home!"

"Ms. Lucy invites Sakurai – sama to come and learn the basic arts to become the CO."

"Heh. Delighted. Tell her I'll drop by anytime... Heh, heh, heh." Meiru made a smug smile.

"Oh come on! Meiru – chan! That's a troll! You heard Ijuuin – san: there's no such "Ms. Lucy" anywhere!"

"Pity. I'd liked to." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I've got the data! Now eat bombs, you freak!"

"When it comes to bombs Bubble Man – sama's Electron Bombs are the best." The culprit laughed.

"Shut the trap up." Forte growled.

"Bring me an owl and we're at peace. Make it be Kaepora Gaebora – dono, too." The culprit taunted.

"A magical owl from _Time's Ocarina_…" Delta muttered.

"Mr. Walking Wikipedia is willing to help?"

"Leave me alone."

"Alright. Then… Lights out! Hop!"

All lights suddenly went out (obviously the natural daylight remained in the lobby) and the PETs were the only source of light.

"Grah! It's pitch-black here!" Forte cursed.

"A Cyber World blackout?" Enzan gasped.

"Fu, fu, fu… Try to find me, gentlemen. Ask for help from the TIA."

"The TIA? Don't you mean the CIA?" Hiro asked.

"No, no. The TIA. Specialists in Air-land Investigations. Lights on!"

"All the data has been released but that monster thing is nowhere to be seen! Are you repeating what happened in June or what?" Forte demanded.

"Heh, heh, heh… Guess so. What better way to start off than with a bang? _Bye_!"

"Damn. Ran away… What an afternoon! How promising, truly!" Enzan cursed.

"Jeez. First it was wrong place, wrong time. Now problems zero on us, then?" Netto grumbled.

An air of annoyance and defeatism hung around the lobby: their afternoon had been spoiled…


	2. Chapter 2: Spying

**Chapter 2: Spying**

08:04 AM (Japan Time), Saturday October the 1st…

"… Yo! Drake. Wake up. It's morning and it's time to play~!"

"Hmmm… No… Not yet. I'm not in the mood."

"Man. And we're at October already! I've been asking you ever since August but you always said the same…

"Because I'm not impatient. Which you are, Hiro – kun."

"Jeez. Not even a teaser?"

"Nothing. Touch me and I will go back to the PET."

"Alright, alright… Jeez."

Hiro (wearing black pajamas) was standing next to a bed place in a barely furnished bedroom having only the bed, a desk, a cupboard and two chairs on it: Delta (wearing navy blue pajamas and revealing his neatly combed jet black hair) was tossing around in the bed and didn't seem to be in a good mood given Hiro's teasing attempts.

"Come on, Tenishi Drake! Be a man!"

"I'm not a "man"! I'm a "boy" both legally and biologically speaking. End of the tale, Hiro – kun." He grumbled as he sat up on the bed.

"Alright. Put on the baseball clothes. We're gonna go play with Netto, Saito, Tooru and Noa. Ookarada skipped 'cause he wants to go show off at the Game Center." Hiro smiled at him.

"Stop corrupting his nickname, will you? He's _Ooyama_ not "Ookarada" as much as it's a literal alteration." Delta told him.

"Oh! Look! A Link cosplay!" Hiro gasped.

Delta rushed towards the balcony but Hiro suddenly stepped back and managed to use his fingers to rub Delta's nipples: he groaned and cursed under his breath as he whipped around and pushed Hiro back: he grinned and Delta fumed…

10:04 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo! Guys! Sorry for the wait."

"We can start anytime."

Hiro and Delta (wearing baseball clothes and a cap like the rest of the group) stepped into the park to meet up with Noa, Netto, Saito and Hikawa there who looked ready: Saito had one bat, Tooru had another, Tomono had one and so did Hiro.

"Alright! So! I'll remind you guys. This is our 'Small Baseball Game'. Instead of having to form two teams of nine, we take turns being the batter and the pitcher. One of us is also a runner. If the runner can't catch the ball after it has been hit by the batter, then that batter gets a point. If the runner catches the ball, the pitcher earns one point. The one who has most points earned either by being batter or pitcher wins." Saito explained with obvious pride.

"I'll be the pitcher, then." Tomono announced.

"I'll be the runner." Hiro announced.

"Good! Then I'm batter." Saito grinned.

Netto, Hikawa and Delta sat down on a bench close to the main area and looked on.

"Saito – kun was very smart to come up with this!" Delta smiled.

"Sure thing… When he doesn't get cocky he can have ideas way brighter than mine. He's my niisan, after all." Netto shrugged.

"In the end, a whole team of Officials swept the school's Cyber World! But they didn't find out where Pac – Man went off to… Bet the Navi data was retrieved and uncompressed. That man has gotta be a terribly skilled hacker!" Hikawa muttered.

"That's because the guy is a solo Net Navi to begin with."

"Yeah. And until we find out where he is then we'll have trouble around the corner."

They were engrossed in their chat and they didn't spot a green Mitsubishi car parked close by: the occupant of it, a man on his 30s sporting a grayish raincoat, an Oosaka Tigers t-shirt and jeans plus an NBA cap and sunglasses was watching out what the teens did while smoking a cigarette and speaking with someone over a cell-phone.

"… Nothing out of ordinary, General, sir… The brats are playing some kind of self-invented baseball game. The target is busy being one of the participants and doesn't seem to have spoken with the group. The bug I tossed around there works but they're only worried about that fuss with the Pac – Man yesterday, sir…" The man reported.

"And?" The "General" questioned.

"They mentioned that the culprit is a Net Navi."

"Knew that… The jerk… So he wasn't kidding me…."

"Eh… What should I do, sir?"

"Don't mind my ramblings, Zeta 34! Focus on the job: if the target mentions anything related to us then ring me ASAP. I'll handle things but you mustn't come closer. I'm sure the "Committee" is close by and they could reduce you in a second's time."

"Roger, sir."

"Good. Over. And remember: don't come any closer and don't anything weird. If not someone's head will roll across the ground!"

"R-roger, sir…" He gulped.

The call ended in a rather abrupt manner and "Zeta 34" sighed in relief as he left the cell-phone on the passenger seat: he turned on the radio and selected a frequency.

"Good morning." A dull man's voice replied.

"Zeta 34" gasped and looked at the playground: a man had come there but he couldn't see him very well given the distance and how the sun was making it difficult.

"The "Committee"…!"

"Correct. Let me tell you something."

"What the heck?"

"… Complete… global… saturation… There you are… Found you… Poor performance indeed… There's no point in hiding… You can't hide forever… Commendable, yet futile… Our beloved monsters… enjoy yourselves… while you _can_…" The man listed in a dry tone yet always breathing in before each word: he finished with a menacing exhale.

"W-who the heck are ya?"

"Tell your so-precious General Alister Sentou: Chief Lezareno, Security Department."

"H-how did you know…?"

"Please. It was obvious. And we have over 40 years of field experience, did you know that? You are rather _amateur_."

"Amateur! I'm Zeta 34, 8 years in the service!"

"Shoo, shoo. I've been in Japan ever since 1999. And I entered the "Committee" in 1988."

"Zeta 34" had been concentrated on using a wireless microphone to reply and didn't notice someone walking over to the car and tapping the side-window: he gasped.

"Hello there."

Chief Lezareno was a man on his forties or maybe closer to his fifties (having neatly combed blonde hair while being close to a meter and ninety tall).

He was dressed in a grey leather sports suit and a jacket: his pants were made of the same material and he wore black boots.

He also sported sunglasses over his eyes.

"Gra~h!"

He suddenly turned the engine on and fled while Lezareno smiled.

"If you are in rush to get back to your nest then fly there. Paws will be, after all, pawns. Don't you agree? Colonel Talos."

"Obviously, Chief."

A second man joined Chief Lezareno: he struck as being slightly younger than him yet way past his 40s.

His hair was grey and parts of it fell down in the front of the face while he seemed to be missing his left eye as well.

He was dressed in a grey army uniform, although the area around the sleeves and neck was colored in a reddish patch: he had a distinction on the right side of the uniform just underneath the right shoulder.

Colonel Talos carried a strange dagger on his right hand which was mainly composed of a cylindrical tube with two large and scythe-shaped ends facing opposite directions: it also had various engravings on it and was colored silver.

"Let us go tell the gentlemen. They must've been surprised."

"Indeed."

Both headed into the playground where the teens had stopped their game given what had happened.

"It's been a while, gentlemen."

"Whoa! Chief Lezareno… Colonel Talos!" Netto gasped.

"Eh… Tooru – kun… Who are those misters?" Tomono asked Hikawa in a whisper.

"Not sure, either…"

"The "Committee"… The good guys tackling the bad guys who work behind the scenes…" Hiro summarized.

"Oh… Interesting." Rafael grinned as he projected outta the Link PET and rubbed his nose with the right hand's index finger.

"Will you stop rubbing your nose? It doesn't look good, Rafael… Do something else."

"Swap your tooth-paste?"

"No."

"Heh, heh, heh."

"It turns out the Z – Nation is back at it."

"Not the Z – Nation again… They never tire! Do they?" Netto groaned with obvious annoyance.

"First Montserrat and now spying on us…" Saito grumbled.

"We know they are searching for something which they label "THE room" yet the information is very scarce. We have no idea if it's in this city, Densan City or in Tokyo, even. Whatever is what they seek must be important if they bother so much to try to make sure we can't beat them to the goal." Chief Lezareno detailed.

"Is the man behind Montserrat back at work this time around, too?" Hiro asked with a sigh.

"True. _General_ Alister Sentou. 46. Been in the service ever since the mandatory military training at the age of 18. He rose rapidly and achieved the General rank in 2002." Colonel Talos summarized.

"Sounds like a way too quick ascent… Bribes?"

"There are plenty of rumors about that, true."

"So, they're monitoring us to see if while they're searching for their goal they can at the same time find a weak point or something and try to exploit it?" Delta deduced.

"Good summary." Chief Lezareno smiled.

"Lovely." Hikawa grumbled.

"And the car that left belonged to one of their agents?" Tomono asked as he pointed towards the spot it'd been at.

"Obviously. Zeta 34. A bit lame, even." Colonel Talos grinned.

"If they're the _Z_ – Nation… Then why do they bother to give it away with the codename? They lack imagination."

"They sure do. Well then, we shall be going back to our vehicle. We thought that showing up in person would prove to General Sentou that we mean business. He will surely rip half of his office apart in a fit of uncontrollable anger." Chief Lezareno smiled.

"Farewell, gentlemen."

"Goodbye."

The two men headed out of the playground while everyone sighed and rolled their eyes.

"I heard on the news about that hijack on the mountain of Montserrat yet I didn't know you'd been involved…" Tomono admitted.

"_We_ were the reason they organized the whole damn thing to begin with, you see." Netto cursed.

"They tried to steal Rock Man and Delta but failed because they'd been doing the virtual tour of the mountain." Saito added.

"They sure are evil people!" Hikawa cursed.

"Obviously. What can you expect from a tyranny which has been around for close to 10 years?" Rafael grumbled.

"This ruined the mood of the game. Let's come back for more tomorrow when we feel in a better mood. We completed the homework yesterday."

"Alright. Let's go, Drake. It's time to bat the bait." Hiro grinned.

"Huh? Bat the bait?" Delta frowned.

"It's – a – secret!" Hiro grinned.

"I'm free this afternoon: we could go to the shopping mall, Noa – kun."

"Sure, why not? I had nothing better to do either. Let's go!"

10:44 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Time to check on General Sentou. Let us use our little flying spy."

A man dressed in blue mechanic's overalls including a cap walked into a dusty and abandoned-looking room having a wooden desk, an electronic blackboard and some abandoned devices.

He carried a mask for the cold and the cap hid his sight so it was hard to tell his age.

He headed for an open and working laptop set atop the desk.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm sure his beloved "KB" has found out about the "Room" by now, even. Sigaano Nogaano has a good insight for this stuff, ya see~!"

He sat on the desk and held the laptop on his lap: the screen displayed an overheads view of a man in green military uniform using a laptop inside of a room somewhere.

"… The security system of THE room is no joke, then?" The man asked someone.

"Yes, General. I could bypass most of them which were no joke but the last one was too complex to try to bypass without triggering a full-scale alarm." A Navi's voice replied.

"That's KB." Sigaano muttered as he formed a smile.

"Describe them to me in order."

"To begin with… The elevator has a hidden ID card slot which triggers it and allows one to enter the 'forbidden' basement. Once you step out there is a very thick steel wall. One must use a retinal scanner in order to open an entrance which closes twenty seconds later. This procedure is repeated three times in total." The Navi began explaining.

"Hum! What else is there?" The voice questioned.

"Yes… Tell us, fellow…"

"Then, one finds the entrance to THE room in front of his eyes… The walls are extremely thick concrete. There's no breaking through those. The security system is _very_ advanced…"

"Be specific."

"The system is set to respond to the signals sent by a network of intravenous nanomachines… Heartbeat, brainwave pattern, blood pressure and so on… In short, the clearance is a person's physiological data. They also require a DNA pattern. Besides, there's a fail-safe in place… The password entry cannot be realized unless the person's brainwave patterns and heartbeats fall within normal parameters, rendering any form of manipulation useless. The person has to input the password _of his or her own free will_." The Navi described.

"Holy…! That's identical to some military systems in Ameroupe which only can be engaged by the President himself…! I wasn't expecting them to go so far concerning security…" General Sentou gasped.

"The system had incredibly powerful firewalls… Trying to bypass or break through them would've triggered a full-scale alarm. I gave up on it. Besides, it'd seem like the interior also has a backup security system, but I do not know the nature of it." The Navi added.

"You know, that cloak and hood are pretty silly by now. Take them off already." General Sentou ordered.

"Let's have a closer look." Sigaano grinned.

He inputted some commands and his spy feed amplified to allow him to properly see the Navi onscreen as he opened the cloak and lowered the hood he'd been carrying.

"Kratins Boo, Supreme Navi Commander of the Z – Nation, reporting to General Alister Sentou."

Kratins Boo was a Net Navi close to two meters tall.

His face looked like a man on his 30s or 40s: his right eye had been replaced by what looked like a black eye-patch.

It had a reddish dot on the middle of it while his left eye's iris was blue in color: his facial expression denoted seriousness.

His head had an unconventional type of protection built around it: the forehead was a reddish square piece.

There were three pale blue shapes drawn inside of it: they looked like sensors to scan: two purplish metallic pieces followed it plus two greenish devices attached to the sides of his head: his ear-pads had the Alphabet "Z" character painted black drawn on them and set against a blood red background: black hair came out from the rear.

His upper body was colored green on the torso and its sides yet the area slightly above the waist and directly beneath the torso was white in color: the armor looked thick and resistant.

His shoulders were a mix of white and green coloring: his arms lacked visible elbows like in most Net Navis and his forearms' armor was rather thick and strong: it combined purple on the elbow area, green as the predominant color and yellow rims around the wrists: his hands were also covered by "gloves" like other Net Navis.

His waist had a golden ring built around it and the armor below it and until the knees turned black in coloring.

The legs' armor had been built to be thick and strong: it started with two white pieces in the form of the Alphabet character "L" facing each other and constructed above the hips: the inner side of the legs was unarmored while the outward side of the legs was where the green armor began at: the knees were colored red.

His ankles had a golden ring around them and the armor slightly below the knees was missing thus exposing the bare black-colored "skin" normally protected by it: the feet had a reddish soil and were colored white yet the green armor partly protected the front and back of them.

Kratins Boo formed a mantle colored blue with golden edges around his body: it included a metallic structure over the shoulders which also helped protect the rear of the head thanks to its half-cylinder form.

The mantle covered this body all the way until the feet and agitated as if there a wind moving it.

"Heh, heh, heh. Good design, yessir. But that enough won't suffice to win, General. Let's send them a reminder that I am around and I would like to tell him what aces I'm saving up my sleeves. Yo and behold! My instant mail delivery system… Mini Pac – Man!"

"General Sentou, sir! A miniature "Pac-Man" has appeared!"

"Wait! Could it be…?"

Kratins Boo had suddenly opened his cloak and drawn a large metallic black gun which had a square muzzle and a laser targeting system: it looked heavy and Kratins Boo was using both hands to wield it: the whole thing looked as large as he was.

"Pac – Pac – Man – Man!"

The miniature Pac – Man opened the mouth and tossed a letter into the ground before vanishing into the blue: Kratins Boo placed the weapon on his back where it attached to two mechanisms apparently designed for that purpose and crouched to pick the letter: it became a screen.

"… "General Sentou: I am afraid your tricks are older than Mr. Oldacre's ones so I am warning you that _aibou_ must surely be about to catch up with you at this rate. You'd better off not underestimating his capabilities, ya know. Beware of the early October flu! Sigaano Nogaano." … So this is the responsible for Proto's theft and the Reverse King's hacking?"

"The guy damn is! I can't wait to get my hands on the guy and make mincemeat of him! A Net Navi who dares to taunt me… If you spot him then go ahead and destroy him! And tell your two agents, Moonlight and Sunlight to be ready for a field mission as well. I'm going to gain some information which could help stand the ground against those bothersome Net Saviors."

"… Heh, heh, heh… Plot all you want, General. I have read each and every one of your moves! And _aibou_ is surely about to get ahead of you in the race to reach the goal… Heh, heh, heh!"


	3. Chapter 3: Failed theft

**Chapter 3: Failed theft**

07:07 AM (Japan Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Good job finding this machine. Thanks to it we skipped all security checks. And here it is: THE Vault!"

"A brilliant strategy, General, sir."

General Sentou (a man over his 40s with short black hair and brownish eyes) was standing inside of a room somewhere along with Kratins Boo who was bowing while wearing the mantle.

"Let's see!"

The room's floor was made of white tiles although the ceiling was bare and only had light bulbs illuminating it: the south wall was made of thick steel and the north wall was another story given how it had a gigantic vault room door installed on it while the walls surrounding it were made of thick gray concrete: a small console had been erected to the left of the vault door.

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright! Here we go!"

General Sentou headed over to the console and interacted with it during two or three minutes: the console beeped and the vault door slowly opened to reveal a concrete-made room which had a small safe placed on the middle of it: the walls were fitted with small black plastic-made circles with a small hole.

"Wait a minute, General. I will disable the last defense line, the infrared sensors, with my EMP grenade."

"Good."

Kratins Boo opened the cloak to reveal a belt which had six grenades attached to it: he tossed one inside and it detonated in a soundless manner: both then rushed inside and began to check on the small safe which looked strong and resistant.

"It needs a four-digit password." Kratins Boo announced.

"Try 1983." General Sentou commanded.

"Roger."

Kratins Boo carefully moved the safe's dial around until he'd finished inputting the password: there was a click sound and the safe soundlessly opened.

"How did you know what password it was, General?" Kratins Boo was visibly surprised.

"Heh, heh, heh… 1983… That's the year the Science Labs were inaugurated." General Sentou grinned.

"Bravo, General."

General Sentou looked inside of the safe which only had a single shelf dividing the interior on two spaces: a thick square-shaped metallic box with a lock on it was placed on the top shelf and various labels were placed around it which read "WARNING!", "DO NOT OPEN!", "DANGER!", "KEEP SEALED!" and "FRAGILE!" amongst others.

"Heh, heh, heh. Let's pick it up and be on our way back!"

"Roger."

Both ran out and General Sentou closed both the safe and ordered for the large vault door to close up as well: he then looked at the box and a smug smile formed on his face.

"Here! Here we have the tool which will ensure the triumph of the Z – Nation and prove to those guys out there how clever we are! Activate the "Dimensional Converter" and let's get outta here!"

"Roger."

A yellowish circle formed on the ground and a tall cylinder made of blue transparent walls displaying the inner circuitry boards: it looked over two meters tall and was seemingly undergoing a booting sequence given the electricity travelling across its surface and its sound.

"We Z – Nation win! Mwa, hah, hah, hah!"

19:14 PM (Bermuda Time), Saturday October the 1st…

"… So. It's just like I'd thought. But you'll end up getting a naughty surprise, General Sentou."

A man on his mid-20s having jet black hair and bluish eyes iris was currently sitting in a black leather armchair placed inside of a room: he wore business attire including a black tie.

The room was poorly lightened but it could be seen that the ground was made of black ceramic tiles and that both the walls and the ceiling were made of bare concrete: the only furniture there was the MacBook laptop on top a wooden desk which displayed an overhead image of the room with the vault.

"Let's report."

He took a cell-phone out of his chest pocket and dialed a number: he waited until someone picked the call up.

"Hello?" A man's voice asked.

"Hello, Hikari – hakase." The man greeted.

"Oh! Vadous – san! How are things like?" Yuuichirou asked.

"They fell for it." Vadous simply replied.

"They did, eh? Then your advice sure came in handy, Vadous – san."

"Have you thought up where do you want to store the genuine one?"

"I spoke it with Commissioner Kifune of the Net Police… We're going to pick one bank and store it there. We'll simply say it contains some important materiel. They will not ask questions."

"Good. Do not tell me, either. The less people that know it, the safer it will be." Vadous requested.

"Only the Commissioner and I are aware of it." Yuuichirou confirmed.

"Good, Hikari – hakase. Those bandits will have the surprise of their lives when they check it out." Vadous smirked.

"Obviously… Later."

"Later."

The man, Vadous, stored the cell-phone and hummed a tune: a door nearby slowly creaked open but he didn't even lift an eyebrow: he simply sighed.

"Omega. That trick with the stealth camouflage is outdated. Have you been in a terror park or what?"

"Ya never know, _shachou_~! Maybe I was trying to see if Ijuuin had a sinister side to him, even!"

"What? Ijuuin, you say? No way. He's an honest young man. Now turn off the stealth camouflage."

"Roger, Admiral Obvious!"

Omega turned out to be a Net Navi who appealed as being over one meter and eighty tall.

His eyes were blue and looked amused while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached all the way to the floor.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

He had a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots: two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

"So? Have you done something _useful_?"

"Well… Did a lil favor to Liquid Ocelot…"

"You mean Mr. Denpa…"

"He told me this: that General Sentou dude is receiving SMS messages from someone code-named "Othello" who reports upon something being done in sections of the Science Labs. And this "Othello" also gives him information about what happens in Class 2-A…"

"What! Then they have an insider? One of the staff?"

"Dunno. I guess the one to find that out is Holmes' ghost."

"Jeez. Stop making up random stuff." Vadous grumbled.

"Don't worry, _shachou_~! I've got everything under control."

"I doubt that. Where are Blood Shadow and Sigma?"

"In the holo-deck!"

"Holo-deck? You mean the VR Simulator, don't you?"

"Holo-deck sounds cooler! _Star Trek_ rocks!"

"_Star Trek_? _Star Wars, Star Trek_… They surely had to get to each other's necks." Vadous muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"But one thing is 6 movies and the other thing is a TV series plus a few movies in the in-between, ya see~! And _Star Trek_ helped establish a lot of clichés and popular jokes!" Omega grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. Get on the move. Go sweep the Reverse Internet for Viruses which may come in handy for "Strategy Retribution"…"

"Yessir! And I'll bring the Taco Queen along!"

"Taco Queen, what silliness… Stop meddling around and go."

"Yessir! Mars Warrior goes off through the DHL express lane~! Brad Shad and Stigma Man gotta be making out in the holo-deck!"

"How many times do I need to repeat that? You three are _androids_! I didn't build "it" into you guys! Move!" Vadous cursed.

Omega giggled and ran off while Vadous worked with the laptop and brought up photos of several Virus species.

"Yeah. They won't see it coming. We can always make it look like Ameroupe pulled a few strings because they feared a direct attack into their national networks by these jerks. That's what happens when you try to threaten the Network Society, Sentou and company."

05:49 AM (Burma Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… How is it? Are we making progress?"

"The unsealing wasn't too hard, sir. We're now ensuring that the stasis status is maintained before we access its program and rewrite the loyalty file, sir."

"Good, good!"

General Sentou came inside of a room where several technicians had gathered around the box, which was open and contained an external HDD device connected by wires to a computer which displayed some graphics on-screen.

"Wait a minute… Isn't the file size for the Navi too small?"

"Dude. We're talking about a Navi of the 80s."

"Oh yeah. You're right, yet… The data… Looks too simple…"

"Simple? Impossible. May look simple on the outside but it's gotta be a chaos on the inside, dude…"

"Hum… But this analysis suggests that… The data on the inside is pretty standard and normal… The structure looks modern, too…"

"Oi, oi… What are ya getting at?"

"There's a program installed here… And the edit tag is just two days ago! Isn't that weird?"

"Yeah. True. But what could that mean?"

"I'll try to copy it and check it out…"

"Do it. This is starting to reek."

"What's the matter?" General Sentou asked.

"Eh… General, sir… The Navi's program looks weird in several spots and it's not because of the composition or the lack of vector data…"

"Oi! Check this out."

"What now?"

"The program… It's a program to disguise Navis!"

"W-what? Then… Does that mean…?"

"Let's check it out!"

"Oi, wait!"

One of the technicians inputted some commands and there was a sound before a normal automated Net Navi colored green and black showed up on-screen: General Sentou's jaw hit the floor and the air on the room seemed to freeze all of a sudden.

"NO WAY!" General Sentou uttered.

"T-this Navi…! It's not the real one…! It's a fake! A fake…! We've been fooled, sir! They replaced the box and its contents and came up with a harmless Navi having a disguise on!"

"The effort I went through to fool the system into accepting my nanomachines which I had to set up in a rush…! All of our efforts have been in vain, you say…? They'll pay for it! You did your job, so you're not to blame! But delete that worthless thing NOW and dispose of the fake box and device! That's an order!" General Sentou's anger was obviously increasing by now.

"R-roger, sir!"

General Sentou ran off the room and entered his office where he kicked the chair into the ground and looked about to destroy everything out of pure uncontrolled rage.

"Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! DAMN THEM!"

He picked the chair, sat down, and brought down both fists on the table thus making it rattle: he brought the fists down again thus making it shake in a violent manner.

"They'll regret laughing at MY face! Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! DAMN THEM!"

09:49 AM (Japan Time)…

"Good morning. Welcome to Anzen Bank. What might I help you with?"

"I have come to deposit a package."

Commissioner Kifune of the Net Police (a man on his 50s, having a gray moustache and being a bit bald plus wearing a green suit and tie) was speaking with a bank clerk: he carried a metallic box identical to the one General Sentou and Kratins Boo had stolen but it did not have any labels at all.

"May I have your name, sir?" The clerk requested.

"Commissioner Kifune. Net Police." Kifune announced as he took his ID out.

The clerk typed into the keyboard and made the register.

"If you would be as kind as to follow me…" The clerk requested.

Kifune followed him into the safes room and the clerk opened it while making a reverence.

"May I have the package?" He requested.

"By all means."

The clerk stored the box inside of the safe and closed it before he handed the key to Kifune.

"Here you have it. Your safe number is number 10334."

"Thank you very much."

Kifune walked out and climbed into a green car parked close by before he turned it on and began to drive away.

"Phew. Now we can be safe that the Z – Nation won't get their hands on "C" because that'd spelled doom for all of us. No. "C" must remain sealed until a way to totally destroy the threat it represents is found…! No evil shall get their hands on "C"… No matter what! Such is our duty… To protect society from such a danger…!"

09:55 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Puku! Heh, heh, heh. Puku. I'm a genius, yessir! Bubble Man – sama's "Skyfall Sword" is being a success, puku!"

"Don't you mean "Skyward Sword"? It's about to come out and there's a lot of hype building up…"

"No, puku! I've recreated 007's fencing sword with his signature on it, puku! Collector's item, puku! Wha! Puku! Y-you're…!"

"Zero."

"Not that guy again, puku!"

"Yeah. Now talk. Have you been doing deals with someone just to get some extra money? Have you seen those two from June again, either? Talk or I'll bring the crowd you scammed."

Bubble Man had been muttering aloud inside of a room when Zero stumbled upon him.

"Puku! I'm innocent, puku! Bubble Man – sama's innocent, puku! Look, Trifozu is coming, puku!"

"Not so fast."

"Puku~!"

Zero had grabbed the tube connecting the rear of his head with the device on his back to stop him from running off and lifted him up.

"He's guilty of trying to sell me a pizza from 10 years ago."

Zero whipped around to see the "Eye of Mordor" floating in the air a meter in front of him.

"Sigaano." Zero grumbled.

"Yessir! I'm glad you remembered my civilian name."

"Civilian name? So that isn't your Net Navi name?"

"Puku?"

"Of course not. I'm just toying around 'cause I wanna wait a while before making the big jump into the foreground. Play around with the Z – Nation while it's still standing… Heh, heh, heh, heh… And Bubble Man! Ya would be better off moving to Acapulco and enjoying the beach. Greetings from Bob & George! See ya~!" He laughed.

The hologram vanished and Zero dropped Bubble Man into the ground before aiming the blade at his neck.

"One more trick and I'll make sure they exile you."

"Yikes! R-roger, puku!"

_Damn Sigaano… Show your hide already and fight like a man! I'm fed up with this._

"Phew. The guy's gone! Puku."

"He's gone. But I'm still around. My poor fellow."

"PUKU!"

The "Eye" showed up again and Bubble Man gasped but the guy calmed him down.

"Calm down. I've got a job for you." Sigaano told him.

"Oh! De puku! A job! Tell me! Puku!"

"It's VERY easy."

"Puku! What is it, then?"

"To look at your navel." Sigaano laughed.

"PUKU?" He didn't get a single word of that.

"Now I leave you to ponder upon these wise words by Master Matsumoto: farewell, oh foolish plebeian, thou who are deceived by silver and gold and rice." He laughed at his own attempt at "poetry".

"PUKU? I didn't get any of that. Puku."

Bubble Man sat down atop a box to resume working on something…


	4. Chapter 4: Questioning

**Chapter 4: Questioning**

10:44 AM (Japan Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… Crap. I forgot to bring the bottle of cold water plus the mini-fridge box to cool down! Let's see…"

Hiro entered his house in a rush (wearing his baseball clothes) and slammed the door shut behind him: he took off the boots and put on the slippers before he headed over to kitchen: he opened the fridge and picked a bottle of cold water which he put inside of the mini-fridge box before closing both.

"Good enough. Let's go back."

THUD!

Hiro gasped and looked at the ceiling after a loud sound rang out: he ran out of the kitchen into the hall and looked at the stairs.

"What was that? The wind tossed something into the ground…? Guess so… Let's go fix it."

Hiro rushed upstairs and into his and Delta's bedroom: his Link PET was on the charger and the computer was on: a _tankobon_ had fallen off the desk and into the ground: the balcony door was badly closed as evidenced by how the curtains moved.

"Jeez. I knew I should've paid attention to Drake when he said I should double-check everything. My laziness can lead to disgrace, even. Let's go fix this." He grumbled.

He picked up the _tankobon_ and placed it atop the desk again before heading over to the balcony door and locking it: he pulled the curtains and then sighed in relief.

"Good enough. Let's go back."

He didn't notice a figure slowly heading for him from behind and holding a taser on the right hand: the figure suddenly closed the left arm around Hiro's neck and zapped him with the taser to knock him out…

10:53 AM (Japan Time)…

BLOF!

"Guah!"

"Oi. Wake up."

Hiro groaned as he tried to recover from his sudden dizziness: he suddenly noticed how he was sitting on a chair and had been tied into it while also having a blindfold covering his eyes.

_What the hell!_

"Ya awake?"

"Z – Nation grunt?" Hiro grumbled.

"I ain't a grunt. I'm a Special Ops Agent!"

"Whatever the ever. You guys are doomed."

"What?"

"Zataki – san let me know. Ameroupe is planning to get back at you for your attempts to hack into their military networks."

_And now I notice that I only have my briefs on… I hate being looked on by someone else who isn't Drake._

"So! Where's Zataki?"

"Dunno. I thought he was in Taiwan or somewhere like that."

"He isn't."

"Well. He's very secretive. I don't question him."

"Why would he bother to pay for your expenses and all?"

"Because I ditched Neo Nebula…"

"And you helped imprison one of our foremost researchers, Dr. Regal. Yeah, I know that. Now… What happened to "C"? Where did you hide the real one?"

"… "C"…? What are you talking about?"

"The top-secret item hidden beneath the Science Labs! General Sentou seized it but it then turned out to be a decoy! So where's the real one, Akashi?" The interrogator questioned.

"Do you think that being a Net Savior grants me access to top-secret info or what? It's not that different from being a patrol policeman!"

"What? Aren't you a Special Ops Unit?"

"Special Ops Unit? This is a police branch, not military! We're civilians! I'm telling you that we're no different from patrol policemen!"

"By all the… So you've never heard of "C", then?"

"No, I haven't! You picked the wrong guy!"

"Che. Orders are orders."

"So go back and release me already before Zataki – san's _Three Musketeers_ get here and make mincemeat of ya because I can hear the typical humming of a Copy Roid engine." Hiro shot at him.

"How could you double-cross Dr. Regal after you bothered to get him out of jail?"

"Jeez! He was the one who started to extortion me and then tied me up inside of a van! I almost died because my nose was getting clogged by the dust there! Besides, I was starting to realize I'd gotten into a mess! So it was logical we wanted to put a stop to him before someone ended up dying for real!" Hiro growled.

"We didn't know that."

"Well! You could've tried to look up Net Police files, lazy grunts! You're acting more like a Genome Soldier than a FOXHOUND member. They'd laugh at your silly behavior." Hiro taunted.

"You're downgrading me to the rank of a mere soldier? I'm a Special Ops Unit member under the command of Supreme Net Navi Commander Kratins Boo: Moonlight!"

"As if I cared!"

BLOF!

"Grah!"

"Don't laugh at me. I didn't bring the equipment given my orders but if I had I could exploit your weaknesses until you confessed."

"You wanna imitate Ocelot, huh? Then bring the revolving bed and try to impress me!" Hiro challenged.

"Shut up."

BLOF!

"Is that all?" Hiro taunted.

"By all the…"

SLAP!

Hiro felt how he was slapped on his right cheek but acted like he hadn't felt anything at all.

"You're supposed to scream in pain, like before!"

"I'm a though guy."

"Hah! You men are weak."

"You're a woman Navi? You've gotta be looking up to Sniper Wolf, then, given how she was the only woman in FOXHOUND."

"I ain't a sniper but who cares! I'll get the answers I want. Who is Sigaano? We know he's a Net Navi, but where did he come from?"

"Dunno! All I know is that Zataki – san and he had cooperated until some years ago when he apparently died and vanished."

"Che. Information compartmentalization… In short: information spoon-feeding…!" Moonlight grumbled.

"Go back to your Kra-something and admit your failure."

"Shut up! Nobody laughs at Kratins Boo _taichou_!"

BLOF! SLAP!

"I don't feel anything! Take that, ugly!" Hiro taunted.

"Then how's this like!"

BLOF!

"Gua~h!"

"Hah! See? You men are weak. A single fist in the balls and you paralyze from pain!" Moonlight taunted.

"That's dirty! Not even Volgin did that!"

"Volgin? A Sharo Nation man?"

"Well! Yeah! A colonel in 1964!"

"Whatever! Answer me! Where did you come from?"

"Need Not To Know! Go to Hell with an elevator!"

"You brat…!"

"Go ahead! The more you attack me the more Zataki – san's anger will rise and you will suffer retribution in less than 24 hours. He'll chase you all across the world if necessary, too!" Hiro grinned.

"What!"

"He holds grudges."

"Damn it!"

"And it won't take long for him to know of this: the "Committee" has direct contact lines with him."

"Hmpf! Then we'll use them to figure out his location!"

"Go ahead but once you meet Omega then you know you're doomed: the guy will go all out on you and only bits and bytes will be left. Heck, even Death Shadow feared his true potential."

"Death Shadow? One of the Death Club? The one who got deleted in June, you mean?" Moonlight gasped.

"Yeah. The one who made that dramatic broadcast about how their satellite could stain the world with that blue stuff and cause apocalypse all around it… That was Death Shadow!" Hiro grinned.

"And his two companions are still at loose, I knew that. But you mean that that Omega Navi is terribly powerful?"

"Yeah. And when you piss him off he goes into an unleashed mode in which he dedicates the whole of his processor to fighting and doesn't even bother to speak… He won't halt until the enemy is destroyed and if you're caught in his gun and saber combos you can kiss your hide farewell, see." Hiro's grin grew wider.

"By all the…! How can such a thing be possible?"

"Zataki – san is a genius programmer, ya see."

"Che! The last thing we needed…!" Moonlight grumbled.

"Hiro – kun? Are you here? What happened? We're all waiting for you to continue the game!" Drake called out from the ground floor.

"Damn it! I forgot about that." Moonlight cursed.

"Come on! Do you think I wore baseball clothes just to show off or what? You lack imagination, grunt. FOXHOUND would laugh at you. You're a badly-paid grunt!" Hiro taunted.

"Shut up, shut up!"

BLOF! BLOF! BLOF!

"Ugh! Uh… Guh…!" Hiro hissed as he closed his teeth.

"Damn it! Scream! You're supposed to scream!"

"And I told you I'm a tough guy! Go to Hell!"

"Hiro – kun? Who are you talking with? Why did you lock the door from the inside?" Drake called out from the other side of the door.

"Damn. Then I'll get the answers outta that guy!"

"Who's there?" Drake questioned

"Che! Spoke too loud…" Moonlight cursed.

"That's as far as you get. _Comrade_." A familiar voice rang out from behind the door.

There was a sound as someone shot the lock with a silenced gun and then kicked it open.

"Who the… The "Committee"…!"

"Hrah!"

"What?"

CLING! ZA~P!

"Gua~h! The Copy Roid's malfunctioning! Plug Out!"

"Hiro – kun! Are you alright?"

"D-Drake…" He muttered.

Drake removed the blindfold and Hiro had to blink several times: he could see Drake crouching and looking at him while Colonel Talos was examining the computer.

"Broke a hole in the firewall… But we know where it's headed to. This is the last straw. Now we have a good motive to carry out retribution…. Are you alright, Mr. Akashi?" Colonel Talos muttered before he turned to speak with Hiro.

"S-somehow…"

"Wait a minute."

He took out his dagger and used it to cut the ropes: Drake then helped him sit up and Hiro made a grimace as he rubbed his stomach area: Colonel Talos seemed to be analyzing the damage.

"Some rest will be necessary."

"Alright… Man… Our baseball game spoiled twice… Hope we have better luck next weekend…" Hiro groaned.

"I am sure there will be. "Strategy: Retribution" is ready and we're only waiting for the signal to carry it out. They will know how foolish they were to neglect the potential of their civilian populace."

"So that means… You're gonna trigger a revolt?" Hiro asked.

"True. And this time they WILL succeed. I will not allow such people to roam free like that." Colonel Talos confirmed.

Drake helped Hiro climb into the bed and put the covers over him before he picked up the tossed baseball clothes and shook the dust off them: he folded them and placed them atop the chair: Colonel Talos picked the cut ropes.

"I will be going. We will place a car for security. But those people are just about to be met with their doom."

"Yeah… Go ahead… Give 'em a beating…" Hiro formed a smile.

"Good morning."

Colonel Talos rushed outside of the room and the front bell then rang: Drake stood up.

"It must be the gang… I'll go."

"Tell them… And allow them in, too…" Hiro requested.

"Alright."

Hiro heard Drake going down the stairs and opening the door: whispers rang out before several sets of footsteps could be heard: Netto and Saito entered the room first.

"Hiro… Drake told us. Are you alright?"

"Somewhat… But I gave the punk a lesson… I guess I'm taking after Big Boss, even! Heh, heh, heh." He grinned.

"That's the spirit!" Saito smiled.

"Akashi – kun… Does it hurt?" Tomono asked.

"No big deal, really. Thanks for being my friend."

"Eh? Ah… Uh… Yeah. True." Tomono formed a smile.

"Hiro – kun… Is it grave?" Hikawa asked.

"Nah. Drake just tends to dramatize but it's no big deal. A bit of rest and I'll be fresher than an athlete." Hiro grinned.

"Jeez. I don't think this is something to joke about, Hiro – kun! Be serious!" Drake grumbled.

"Did ya say something, Drake – chan?"

"Jeez. I give up!" Drake sighed.

"How did the culprit run away?" Rafael asked.

"Didn't Drake say it? It was a woman Navi! Colonel Talos disabled the Copy Roid and she fled though my computer. She's gotta be on the way back to the Z – Nation by now but today those guys go down. They should be ringing up Lloyd's of London. Heh, heh, heh."

"You and your lame humor…" Drake looked unimpressed.

"Tell that to Saito over there or Forte." Hiro shrugged.

"We should host a competition." Saito grinned.

"And you'd win?" Netto guessed.

"Ask Victory Man."

"That joke of making up Navi names sounds cheap to me." Netto told Saito while looking unimpressed.

"Ah? But who was the one trolling around last year?" Saito brought up with a smile.

"Jeez. You win."

"Heh, heh! I'd like to meet that Forte guy." Rafael grinned.

"Sure thing. We'll introduce you to him: we need some new dynamic ideas, anyway." Hiro invited.

"Heh, heh! And I'll show 'im how cool I am when bringing down two Viruses at the same time with my guns!"

Rafael picked them and began to spin them by their triggers before tossing them into the air and picking them back: he then spun them horizontally and tossed them upwards to catch them and spin them behind him: he lastly holstered them and grinned.

"That looked like Major Ocelot's SAA Revolver spinning… You've been looking him up?" Hiro grinned.

"Sure thing! _MGS_ is cool! I dunno why they say ya gotta be 16+ to see that but that's the general public speaking." He shrugged.

"At least it's not H stuff." Tomono muttered.

"H as in Holo-deck?" Rafael laughed.

"_Star Trek_, eh? It looks cool." Saito recognized the name.

"Thanks, Saito – kun! _Let's fight_!"

"I'd rather _let's drive_!"

"Now ya wanna play _Mario Kart Wii_?" Hiro lifted his eyebrows.

"I'm good at those games." Hikawa admitted with a smile.

"Alright! Then let's form the Akihara Town Kart Team!" Hiro rallied as he lifted his right arm.

"_BANZAI_~!"

Everyone laughed and Hiro smiled as Drake blinked him an eye.

_THIS is what "friendship" means! We all get along perfectly! No Z – Nations grunts will be able to undermine our friendship. They're doomed, anyway. _

The group kept on laughing and joking…


	5. Chapter 5: Doom

**Chapter 5: Doom**

09:37 AM (Burma Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… By all the… I'll remember that! I, Moonlight, hate being looked down upon! I'll show them!"

"So your little mission went ashtray, Moonie?"

"Shaddup, Sunlight or Sunny or whatever name ya use."

"Heh, heh, heh."

Moonlight had run into a network somewhere and stopped to recover her breath: she was a Navi about a meter and eighty tall.

Her helmet was colored black with purple edges and had a purple-colored hexagram drawn into the forehead.

Her eyes' irises were purple as well and her facial constitution was that of a woman on her mid 20s and long smooth blackish hair came out from behind her helmet extending until the heels.

Her ear-pads had the same Alphabet "Z" character drawn into them like the one Kratins Boo had.

Her main body armor was colored purple with black edges and drawings of the moon phases' (except for the new moon which was drawn in black coloring inside of the chest emblem and set against a navy blue background) colored white.

Her arms had black armor with purple rings drawn next to the shoulder, before and after the elbow and at the start of the forearm armor which included a knife-carrying accessory colored white having three of them inserted on them.

She carried a belt with two handguns stored on it plus several grenades and two pouches for storing stuff: the _gekkou _(moonlight) _kanji_ was drawn on the center of it using white tint against a black background.

Her legs had white rings drawn on the hips, before and after the knees and on the ankle.

She carried another two knife-carrying accessories there with three knives in each one: the boots were colored purple and had black soil.

"Go to Burma with the 4:44 PM express, Sunny, and do us a favor, will ya, ya punk?" She snapped at her interlocutor.

"My, my."

Sunlight's design was pretty similar to that of Moonlight's but his colors were orange and red instead of purple and black.

His face was shaped like a man on his mid 20s as well and his eyes' irises were a burning orange color.

The helmet had a red pentagram on the forehead and some reddish hair came out from behind it and extended until the shoulders.

His main armor had drawings of the Sun and the different eclipse phases: a total eclipse was drawn upon his chest emblem against a black background.

His arms were colored in orange color with red rings on the same spots Moonlight had: next to the start of the shoulder, before and after the elbows and on the start of the forearm armor which was colored yellow and had a knife-carrying accessory as well like Moonlight had.

He sported a belt with two handguns, the grenades and the pouches colored orange and red on his waist and the _taiyoukou_ (sunlight) _kanji_ painted orange against a yellow background.

His legs' design was identical to that of Moonlight as well given how he too carried the knife-carrying accessories: his boots were orange with yellow soils.

"What "my, my", huh? Stop screwing me… _Otouto_!"

"Sorry, _ane-ue_." He smiled.

"Moonlight, Sunlight! Stop that."

Kratins Boo (wearing the mantle) walked over to them and he didn't look amused.

Both gasped and quickly saluted as he loomed over them (given how he was over 20cm taller than them) as if he was about to scold them for their behavior: both gulped and remained on the same position while Kratins Boo narrowed his eyes.

"Internal fighting is forbidden as per Rule #43B. Have you forgotten that already?" He reminded them.

"No, sir!"

"You're not proving it but whatever. What happened to your mission, Moonlight?"

"Sir! The "Committee" got in the way and disabled the Copy Roid. I had no other choice but to flee yet I got some information."

"Hum. What about you, Sunlight? Did you manage to find out where was "C" moved to?"

"Sir! I did, sir. I found out that Commissioner Kifune of the Net Police opened a depot in Anzen Bank. It surely is there." Sunlight quickly reported to him.

"Do we know something about that Zataki man, Moonlight?"

"Not much, sir, but it's said that one of his Net Navis, Omega, is terribly powerful in battle when angered. He goes into a non-stop mode in which he doesn't bother to talk and doesn't slow down until the enemy escapes, disables him or is defeated…" Moonlight reported.

"Hum. Then we should be careful with that Omega."

"You really should, guys."

"What? Who the…?"

They turned around to see the "Eye of Mordor" there: it was starting into them as if he could see beneath their skins.

"Good stuff over there, Moonlight."

"You pervert!" She cursed.

"Hit a spot, eh?"

"Sigaano Nogaano!"

"Did ya call for me~?"

"You lowlife… What are you plotting?"

"Not me. _Aibou_."

"_Aibou_? You mean Zataki?" Moonlight asked.

"Yeah. Good ol' Zataki."

"What is the man up to?" Kratins Boo demanded.

"I don't like spoilers and, besides, you're about to get the first reports on what's about to descend into this military network."

The sound of an explosion which sounded like it was coming from close by filled the air: he sound of guns firing and other unidentifiable sounds rang out on the distance all of a sudden.

"This is Border Post South! We're being invaded!" A nervous voice announced over a radio channel.

"Who is it?" Kratins Boo questioned.

"_Gigantic Viruses_! There's a whole pack of 'em! Mettools, Garuus and a whole lot of other subspecies! Gra~h!" There was a roar of agony and the line went dead.

"Coming." Sigaano sounded eager.

"No way! The guy sent a squad of Giant Viruses to fight us?"

"This is Border Post East! We're being quickly overrun! DIE, DIE, DIE~! GRA~H!" A new voice managed to report before it turned hysterical and died down in a yell of agony.

"This is Border Post North! We can't hold our lines! We have to fall back…! No! Don't come any closer! UO~H!" A third voice reported before it sounded panicked and roared in agony before disappearing.

"… T-this is B-border Post W-west! W-we're b-being a-assaulted…! K-kami-s-sama…! W-what does it take t-to k-kill t-these t-things…? NO~! GUO~H!"

"F-from all directions! They're coming from all directions! We're being cut off from the outside!" Sunlight gasped.

"Damn them!" Kratins Boo cursed.

"Heh, heh, heh. A drama has begun. I'll be taking the first row. And given how this is a hologram then the Viruses – chan can't harm the humble me at all." Sigaano chuckled.

"You lowlife…!"

"Hey. I said this is _aibou_'s idea. I'm just watching it unfold. Fight to the end like the Spartans! _Au revoir_!"

The hologram vanished: Kratins Boo pulled his cloak out and drew his large gun which began to emit a laser pointer: Kratins Boo brought it closer to his eye.

"Enemy detected… 300 meters SSW! They've advanced quickly… Listen! Giant or not, they are Viruses! They can be deleted! They're simple-minded and their attacks are predictable! Rally all available battle Net Navis! We're going to fight to the end and prove those invaders that we're not weaklings! You're authorized to use heavy weaponry!"

"ROGER, SIR!"

"Move!"

The two Navis ran out while Kratins Boo aimed his gun and pressed the trigger: a concentrated bluish laser shot out and impacted a Giant Mettol thus deleting it.

"Hah! One blow and they're deleted. Let's go! For the glory of the Z – Nation!" He rallied.

"METTO~!" Some Mettols roared on the distance.

"Today we will prove to those invaders that we Z – Nation are the strongest military force in Earth!"

10:07 AM (Burma Time)…

"… Where in the hell is General Sentou at? I want to speak with him IMMEDIATELY!" Someone ordered through a phone.

"Excellency! He is not in his office! It is empty!" A man reported.

"That lowlife has betrayed us, then! Put a bounty on his head! I want him _dead_!" The voice roared.

"Y-yes, Excellency!"

"What's the status of the network?"

"80% of it has been ravaged and only the capital city's sections and the HQ's sections stand! Kratins Boo has rallied all available forces to fight back and they've deleted about 77% of the invaders!" A Lieutenant Colonel reported.

"Excellency! Reports are just coming in… Revolts are popping out all across the country, massive defections are being reported and seizure of weapons as well! The lack of a network to coordinate suffocation attempts and troops is helping them out! They are organized and they have a lot of non-lethal weaponry, too!" A Major reported.

"Goddamn it!"

"Excellency…! The outer districts are out of control! Tanks have been seized as well as armored troop delivery vehicles! The rebels are advancing towards the HQ given how all security defenses are non-functional! Fences are being brought down as we speak and garrisons forced to fortify on the barracks where fighting is spreading!"

"Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! Damn Sentou! That lowlife fooled me with that of the "world domination plan"!"

"What do we do, Excellency?"

"FOR FREEDOM!" Some voices yelled on the outside.

"Last perimeter has been broken! There's fighting on the hall! We're outnumbered!"

"Damn! They won't get to humiliate me in a civilian court! Farewell, you bunch of fools!"

SLAM! BANG!

The military officers present took off their caps and looked at the ground as if they were in a burial: a ruckus rang out close by.

THUD!

"There they are! Seize them! And, remember! No violence! This is the point of our revolution! No blood and no death!"

"Roger!"

"You guys! Where's the big boss?"

All officers signaled a door nearby with their right arms without bothering to look up.

"Get there! And be careful: the old geezer might want to shoot us all before he runs out of bullets!"

"Alright!"

Four men ran into the room but immediately gasped in horror and rang out while shutting the door behind them: they were pale.

"T-the old man has blown his brains up!" One gasped.

"T-the room's stained with blood!"

"Kami – sama!"

"He killed himself…!"

"Too bad… But we should've seen it coming. All dictators do the same, look at WWII's end. I know the Italian guy got hanged by the mobs but the one who started the war blew his brains up to."

"What do we do?"

"Let's arrest these. Besides, the UN observers will soon arrive to give us a hand. They'll make sure there's fair play."

"I'll go to the rooftop and announce the victory!"

"Go, go!"

One man ran up some stairs and exited into the rooftop where a Hind A chopper had been parked at: a crowd surrounded the HQ and its perimeter and looked enthusiastic.

"Comrades! We are free! The tyrant killed himself! We're free! And the UN is welcome to make sure there's fair play involved!"

"HORRAY~!"

"We will process all those guilty of ordering tortures murders or other villainous acts against the populace!"

"HORRAY~!"

"This building will be razed to the ground to erase the tragic memory of this Decline Age!"

"HORRAY~!"

"Victory is ours!"

"HORRAY~!"

"Let's move on as a new nation! Let's move on as one! One nation! A free nation!"

"HORRAY~!"

"All those criminals who have fled the country will be found and brought back here for trialing!"

"HORRAY~!"

"Say it again! A new age! A new nation!"

"NEW AGE! NEW NATION! HORRAY~!"

"This day shall be remembered as Freedom Day!"

"HORRAY~!"

10:49 AM (Burma Time)…

"… Ugh… Where are… we…?"

"Grah… My body hurts like hell…"

"Damn it… What monsters!"

Kratins Boo, Moonlight and Sunlight awakened and stood up to look around them: large chunks of raw data were floating around the area and all lighting had died: the roads and ramps were splintered and broken plus all Warp Points were cracked and shattered: short-circuits could be seen everywhere and this loose electricity was the only source of light besides the "Eye of Mordor" which was hovering high into the air as if wanting to scan the whole area.

"Damn… We managed to delete the last of them but the damage forced us into recovery mode…" Kratins Boo cursed.

"By all the… This will take MONTHS to repair!" Moonlight gasped.

"Yeah… High Command won't be pleased." Sunlight muttered.

"I'm afraid no – one will ever bother to repair this network." Sigaano told them as he looked towards them.

"What do you mean, Sigaano?" Kratins Boo demanded.

"While you guys were fighting for your lives, countless revolts sprouted out across the nation and thanks to their coordination and resources plus the lack of the military's organized counterattack they made it to the High Command HQ. Your Great Leader has blown his brains up. The officers have been arrested and the civilian government has called for a general election under supervision of UN inspectors."

"Impossible…! Then….!"

"Your ranks and existence don't mean anything anymore. An age has ended and a new age has begun. Such is History. Too bad you were napping and didn't see it happening live."

"I-impossible…! What are we gonna do, then?" Moonlight gasped.

"… Damn. I see no other way around but to exile ourselves. But we will one day return with a military force and restore power to the High Command!" Kratins Boo grumbled.

"Maybe you'll be lucky and end up stumbling upon Sentou. I know he pulled some strings to get out of the HQ unnoticed and picked a train to the northern region: he has surely disguised as a civilian and snuck out through the border with Mongolia. Maybe he'll then flee to somewhere better like… Who knows? Maybe he'll pick Taiwan." Sigaano told them as he hummed a tune.

"Hum. You sound serious and I can picture General Sentou picking such a route, so… We'll be on our way but don't interfere."

"Oh, no… Not like I wanted to. You guys unfold dramas. I am the spectator… Unfold a bloody drama and I shall look at it from the very first row." Sigaano sounded like he was shrugging.

"Let's go, Moonlight, Sunlight!"

"Roger!"

The three of them ran down an avenue while jumping over the gaps and avoiding the splintered circuit boards with loose electricity: the "Eye" looked towards them but then focused on scanning what was left of the military network.

"Heh, heh, heh. So you pit them against Titans, eh, _aibou_? Amusing, I must say. Well then… You might have hidden "C" and protected it but when I get the chance then I'll give them a chance to unfold an even greater drama, I promise you. Maybe you're busy trying to beat _Halo 3_ in Legendary difficulty to check out if the contents of the "Terminals" vary upon difficulty level? Heh, heh, heh… Well then… I'll be going but don't neglect me, _aibou_. I'll be looking on from the backstage. Your old companion promises you this: I'll give a hand to the crafty "Nebula Grey" in stirring up "evil" and its "incarnations"… You can't hope to fully defeat a force of the Universe!"

Sigaano laughed aloud and his voice echoed within the network…


	6. Chapter 6: Corruption

**Chapter 6: Corruption**

18:48 PM (Japan Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… Is everyone here?"

"Sorry, I'm late!"

"Whoa! Obihiro Shun – kun! Been a while!"

"T-thanks… I've been busy… Eh… Where's my seat?"

"Over there."

"T-thank you very much."

Netto, Saito, Hiro, Drake, Yuuichirou, Meijin and Obihiro had gathered around a round table in a Science Labs office room.

"How do you do?"

"Fine, thanks."

Today, Obihiro sported a purple jumper and blackish jeans plus white sneakers: the jumper included a white hood.

He carried a MacBook under his right arm as well which he left atop the table as he sat down on his assigned chair next to Netto and to Meijin's right.

"Good. We're all here so we can begin. What I will disclose mustn't come out of these walls. It's a tightly kept secret."

"Roger."

"To begin with… You remember about "Proto" and the "Proto Rebellion", don't you?" Yuuichirou began.

"Yeah. The prototype Internet which went berserk and took a great deal of efforts to seal up… And which Sigaano stole during the summer vacations..." Netto recalled.

"And you know that Forte was created here, in the Science Labs, as the world's first Independent Model Net Navi, too."

"Yeah. He was turned into a scapegoat by Proto so as to hide its own malfunction and some greedy directives used that as an excuse to get rid of him because they wanted Net Navis to always be dumb tools which couldn't do anything without human control." Saito sighed.

"Well… When Proto went all-out and began to expand its influence while absorbing data it ended up creating a special Net Navi as a "mobile" extension of itself given how the core couldn't move from the spot yet it was heavily protected by corrupted network patches which could swallow any data coming in…" Yuuichirou began explaining.

"And that Net Navi is what the Z – Nation was after?"

"Correct. Given its ability to "corrupt" data on touch and infect any system or device he stepped into while also growing in shape and size thanks to the absorption of data, my father decided to name him "Corruption"… And to avoid saying his name we simply say "C" not unlike how Navis in the Reverse Internet refer to Serenade as "S"…"

"_Corruption_…" Drake muttered in a grim tone of voice.

"But when we managed to slowly defeat Proto by cutting off all devices it controlled and reducing the infection back at the start point, we installed the Guardian Program to seal its core. As a result, Corruption's data began to decay and revert to normal Navi data because it was dependent on the main core and the "corrupted" patches of Network to maintain his integrity. Eventually, only 5% of his data was part of Proto, meaning that he was virtually powerless. Not wanting to take any risks, however, a team of Navis captured him and he was extracted from the Network to be stored inside of a specially-built Cyber World which was in turn placed inside of a mobile data storage medium… Over time, as storage sizes increased, he was moved in the utmost of secrecy and security… Between those intervals, the storage unit was kept inside of a metallic safe which was stored inside of safe. This safe was then stored inside of a gigantic vault room built in an 'unofficial' Science Labs basement level…"

"Whoa. A secret vault room…!" Obihiro whistled in surprise.

"And what became of Corruption, then?" Hiro asked.

"Over time, the security measures around it were increased. I told you that Corruption was virtually powerless but that remaining 5% data could be infused with new data and would act like an organic virus… It would copy itself over and over again and expand across the body. The Z – Nation wanted to reprogram him in order to infect Navis with data to brainwash them into working for them. Fortunately enough, Vadous – san suggested swapping the box and putting a Navi frame with an avatar program. Before they could do anything else, he sent them an army of gigantic-sized Viruses to wreck their military network and allow the civilians to overthrow them." Yuuichirou concluded.

"Wow. So that's why they were so pissed off… And we heard the news over the radio on our way here: the revolution is a success and their big boss is no longer." Netto muttered.

"And you placed the real one elsewhere?" Hiro asked.

"Obviously. Only Commissioner Kifune knows of its real location by now to reduce the risk of leaks. We've also found some backdoor programs hidden in some key sections of the Science Labs which someone has installed… And we've removed them. Apparently the Z – Nation also wanted to try to hijack the functions of the Science Labs to confuse us while they tried to bring Corruption back to full power." Yuuichirou admitted with a smile.

"I see." Gate Man muttered.

"Remember, Gate Man. This conversation is Top-Secret."

"Well. I'll be going. We're still digging up backdoors in the most unusual spots. Who'd want to hijack a canned coffee vending machine, anyway? A coffee hater?" Meijin admitted.

"A coffee hater! Coffee Hate Man strikes back!" Hiro laughed.

"So, Obihiro – kun! What do you these days?" Netto asked.

"I'm a freelance programmer. I help Mr. Vadous with the beta versions of some programs and also help out dig out unused data from some games which I then forward to some websites."

"Oho."

"Unused sprites, events, fonts, test rooms, texts… There's a lot of stuff you can dig outta a game. I also try to detect bugs or errors as well." Obihiro admitted.

"Can you tell us anything about them?" Hiro asked.

"I didn't find this out since it's pretty much old news by then, but do you know the _original_ Pocket Monsters Green & Red for the Game Boy? Have you tried playing them?"

"I did once some years ago when I was in the… eh… hospital. Papa brought it to me." Saito admitted.

"Well! There's a pretty infamous glitch named the _missing number glitch_. It'd seem that the game was intended to have 190 entries but they cut 39 out and stopped at 151. The data from that is still left so these entries sometimes materialize in the form of a wild Pokémon named just that, "missing number"… It even has an entry in the Pokémon Picture Book but the description has a placeholder. And messing around with the code can get you some surprised like duplication of items or glitch Trainer battles with crazy levels…" He detailed.

"I'd heard about that "missing number" thing, true." Drake admitted.

"And there's a lot of other stuff, too. Unused tracks, sprites, battles, names, maps, moves… It's obvious that they scrapped a lot of ideas as the designers changed their minds."

"Heh, heh! Interesting." Netto grinned.

"Huh? Mail… From Chief Lezareno… He's waiting for us outside and wants us to come with him… But only we two." Saito muttered as he checked his Link PET.

"I guess it's something important. See ya, Obihiro – kun!"

"Thanks! Good luck!"

"Whoa! There was one in the lobby desk too! They're everywhere!"

19:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… _Hello_! _You_ just called _Maha Ichiban_'s! _We_ make up _excellent curry_! Do _you_ want to _order_ some _curry_?"

"I'd rather tell your Net Navi to go operate an electric chair."

"_What_! _Who are you_?"

"Sigaano Nogaano. A terrible hacker."

"_Oh my God! Hacker_, he says!"

"What, what? Oi, Count Elec! What's this about a hacker?"

"We're gonna get hacked?"

"Odd. I doubt a hacker finding anything worthwhile here."

"Me? Operate an electric chair? This guy is kidding, right?"

"I'd say "yeah"…"

"Tee, heh, heh. This guy is funny."

"I do not see the fun on it."

Count Elec had answered to the phone inside of a small restaurant's main room and he suddenly gasped: Hino Kenichi rushed over there along with Iroaya Madoi and Maha Jarama: Elec Man grumbled, Fire Man shrugged, Colored Man giggled and Magic Man didn't find it funny.

"I should inform of you that Mr. Universe is going to make tacos rain down from the heavens and such the abandoned locale to your right will become the most popular taco restaurant in Densan City." Sigaano calmly informed them.

"NO WAY~!" They all yelled.

"Taco restaurant?" A Net Police detective wondered.

"Too spicy for my taste." Another muttered.

"Surprised, gentlemen?"

"_Who the hell are you?"_ Count Elec demanded.

"Sigaano Nogaano. A fearful hacker."

"Don't screw around!" Hinoken cursed.

"My, my. Then maybe it'd be better if I brought you a bunch of lilies which I collected in the Netherlands?"

"Huh? Lilies? And what do we do with them, cook them?"

"No, no. Put them on the tables as decoration."

"Ya think you're funny, don't you?" Hinoken grumbled.

"I think Ms. Iroaya's perfume is a cheap Choina bazaar thing."

"How dare cha!" Madoi cursed.

"I dare. Because I am in control. On control of the situation."

"What do you intend to do?" Maha Jarama demanded.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"If you mean apart from studying your strong points and weak points, then I don't intend to do anything else… At least regarding you gentlemen… Heh, heh, heh…"

"_You bandit_! _Show_ your _face_! _I'll_ beat ya!"

"That accent would be better suited for an Australian show."

"_What_! _Australian show_? _Me_? _Don't joke_!"

"Mr. Hinoken would be suited as an arsonist, Ms. Madoi could be the lazy secretary and Mr. Maha Jarama should be the cook he is."

"Me a lazy secretary? Ya are kidding, right'"

"Arsonist, me?"

"Didn't you blow ovens back in April 2009?"

"Eh… Hum… That was a side-effect!"

"Your phone call to a certain gentleman back then disproves your claims: would you like to hear it?" Sigaano suggested.

"Eh… No, no! But I'm a good guy now!"

"For the time being. Because running a restaurant is the only way you didn't spend 15 years in jail."

"_What a jerk_!"

"Heh, heh, heh. I think that's enough stirring of past ghosts by now or should I bring up the following? Arson, kidnapping, extortion, sabotage, car accidents, attempt to blow a bus up, hacking, theft of programs… The list is large. Just that you remember. And I'd say the same thing to those four Net Navis." Sigaano added.

"Hmpf!" Elec Man played the unimpressed.

"This guy…!" Fire Man cursed.

"Che! We didn't like that, ya know!" Colored Man snapped.

"But it is reality." Magic Man admitted.

"At least someone has the foresight to admit reality, then. Ah. As for those two Net Police detectives… It's about to rain prosecutors."

"Rain prosecutors?" Both asked.

"In short: you're going to have to fill out a lot of bureaucratic documents soon enough."

"Uh-oh."

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright. I don't want to spend my cell-phone's credit so I'll be leaving it here for today. _Laugh and grow fat_! Heh, heh, heh! Fatman sends his greetings along with a cologne-signed C4 Bomb. Goodbye and beware of Angela Merkel's perfume."

There was a chuckle before the line went dead and the whole group grumbled under their breaths…

19:29 PM (Japan Time)…

DING DONG!

"Coming!"

Tomono headed over to his house's door and looked out through the peephole to see Netto and Saito plus Chief Lezareno standing outside: he turned pale and looked nervous.

"C-crap…! T-they… figured it out…! What do I do…?"

"… Tell 'em the truth." Rafael sighed.

"… Guess there's no other way around…" He grimly muttered.

He slowly opened the door and hung his head down as he signaled for the visitors to come in.

"What's wrong, Noa – kun? You look down." Netto asked.

"Is something troubling you?" Saito asked next.

"… Of course. Don't pretend you don't know. Why else would you come at such an hour?" He told them in a tired tone of voice.

"They haven't been informed yet." Chief Lezareno replied as he took out his sunglasses to reveal bluish eyes.

"Let's get this over with soon. I know I'm gullible."

"Mr. Tomono is the insider of the Science Labs who had been distributing those backdoor programs under extortion of the Z – Nation." Chief Lezareno revealed.

"What!"

"There. You hate me now, right? I'm an idiot, I know. I'm not as brave as Hiro – kun. I'm weak and all that stuff!" Tomono exploded.

"W-wrong! Wait a minute!"

"It's not your fault! Anyone else would've been forced to cooperate in such a situation!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Cool it down, Noa – kun… We're to blame, yeah, but… Was there any way around? Our house was bugged, you were bugged, the school was bugged… You had to send SMS reporting any mention of "Proto", "Hacker", "Sigaano" using a cell-phone they gave us… A car trailed us everywhere… We couldn't tell them or else your dad in the Science Labs would suffer the consequences…" Rafael sighed.

"But if…!"

"Trying to say "but if" now it's a loser's way, Noa – kun. Let's accept it: we were used."

"That's it! Nothing's changed! You're still our classmate… our friend! So cheer up!" Netto told him.

"It's over. You don't need to be afraid of those jerks anymore!" Saito rallied him.

"Netto – kun, Saito – kun… I… I…" He trailed off.

"No. There's no need to say anything else. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change."

"S-so… You two don't… hate me?"

"Why should we? Hiro used to be our "enemy" back when he formed Neo Nebula but he then admitted that he'd been mistaken and we rescued him. We've become good friends after that." Netto explained.

"Yeah. And the "Hunters' Guild" also became good guys so… We've got no motive to hate anyone, really." Saito added.

"Do excuse me. You mentioned that they gave you a cell-phone, right, Mr. Tomono?"

"Yeah… You can have the piece of junk…"

Tomono opened his backpack and gave Chief Lezareno a black cell-phone: he checked it and slowly nodded in agreement as if the contents matched what he expected.

"Good. I will leave you gentlemen to talk. I need to have this be analyzed: hopefully they forgot important fingerprints and we could find out the number of General Sentou, whose whereabouts are unknown. He could've forgotten to switch cell-phones in the rust to flee." Chief Lezareno announced to the group.

"Alright. Good luck, Chief."

"Thank you, gentlemen. I will be going. Good evening."

Chief Lezareno came out while Tomono sat on a chair and began to cry all of a sudden: Netto and Saito tried to relieve him.

"I'm so pitiful! I've been forced to cooperate into sabotaging the Science Labs…! Into sabotaging my dad's work…! I'm an idiot!" He cursed as he clutched his head.

"… Noa – kun…"

"What have I done to deserve this? Why me!" He groaned.

"Look, Noa – kun. I've got three bullet wounds on my body and yet I'm still chasing after those bad guys because I'm a Net Savior. I've been at the edge of death once. But even so I didn't let that push me back. I've pushed on forward with all of my potential." Netto told him.

"W-what…? You got three bullet wounds and almost died but… You didn't stop…?" Tomono looked up.

"Yeah. Netto – kun is the type to not let anything intimidate him. He even pulled a large switch still frizzling with electricity without minding the pain it inflicted to help Rock Man defeat an evil Net Navi."

"It's not like we want to brag, but… If they only beat you or so then you should think you're fortunate. Now… Let's bury that painful past already and move on. I wanna trade some Pocket Monsters from my _Pocket Monsters: Black Version_! I know you have _White_, so…"

"D-deal… Thank you… Guys…" Tomono formed a weak smile.

The group smiled and the bad part seemed to have ended…


	7. Chapter 7: Awakening

**Chapter 7: Awakening**

22:34 PM (Japan Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… Man. Another rainy October night…"

A private security guard was sitting on a chair next to a row of safes inside of a bank's main room: he was flipping through a magazine's pages and looked rather bored as he heard the rumbling of thunderbolts and the sound of rain hitting the windows.

"It's at times like this when I wish that I could've been assigned to somewhere else, like in the Southern Hemisphere…"

The lights suddenly went off and he groaned as he took out a flashlight and illuminated the room.

"Lovely. The last thing I needed! I now have to go and pull the breakers up again… Why couldn't they make sure the electricity wouldn't go down during a storm? Jeez."

The guard walked away while a figure sneaked past one row of safes and headed for the furthest one: the figure began to check the labels until it found the one Commissioner Kifune had rented out.

"Yo!"

The would-be-robber whipped around to see a figure hidden in a hardly illuminated spot: a cross-shaped sapphire light was flashing out and some reddish spots could be spotted.

"Uncle Jeremy came to send you to your watery grave with a business class pass!"

"Who the hell!"

"Didn't good Akashi tell ya guys 'bout me~?"

"What! You couldn't be!"

"I am who ya think I am. Now, wanna go with me to the disco to rumble and shake all night long, Moonie~? Or do ya wanna go to Nifleheim?"

A thunderbolt fell down and its flash revealed both Moonlight and Omega being inside of the room: Omega had his arms folded and was leaning his back against a row of safes while Moonlight had drawn the knives and was holding three of them on her right hand.

"Wanna see my toy?"

Omega reached for his right hip where there was a white hexagonal addition: he picked the upper half and pressed its surface to make it become a sword's hilt: a green-colored pyramid-shaped energy blade formed next.

"I borrowed the SFX from _Episode IV: A New Hope!_ Does it look and sound genuine enough for you, Moonie~?"

"What the… This guy isn't being serious!"

"Ya better don't piss me off or else ya know what happens! I know Akashi told ya."

"Che. Bothersome meddling guy!"

"So! Choice A: run. Choice B: slaughter. Which will ya pick? Ya have 300 seconds to decide starting NOW!"

"5 minutes to decide…! Ugh! I don't want to fail a mission twice on the same day but I didn't come armed enough to fend off against a swordsman…!" She grumbled.

"475 seconds left!"

"Che! I'll remember this!"

She suddenly ran off and Omega followed her to see how she jumped out through an unlocked window and ran across the street: Omega grinned and switched off his weapon which he then stored.

"Heh. So they have a method to deliver Copy Roids around here. They mustn't be too far… Heh, heh, heh. Let's go back to base and treat Brad Shad to a _Vesper Cocktail_."

He giggled under his breath…

09:49 AM (Japan Time), Monday October the 3rd…

"… Good morning. I've come to retire an object."

"May I have the key of the safe, sir?"

"Here you have."

"Thank you, sir. One moment, sir."

Commissioner Kifune had come to the bank and had handed the key to the clerk who checked something on the computer.

"Roger, sir. Please follow me, sir."

Commissioner Kifune followed the clerk and he unlocked the safe before making a reverence: Commissioner Kifune picked the box and walked out after the clerk closed the safe.

"Thank you for using the services provided by Anzen Bank, sir."

"Good. Good morning."

"Good morning, sir."

Commissioner Kifune came out of the bank and climbed into his car yet today Vadous was sitting on the passenger seat.

"Mr. Vadous. Please handle the rest. We will keep "C" safer by placing it somewhere far away."

"Do not fret, Commissioner. I will place intense surveillance on this thing to make sure no – one gets their hands on it."

"Fair enough. No official record will be kept of this transaction. And do not tell me the location, either. The lesser people involved the better the secret will be kept. And one day we might find a way to totally delete this menace. But it isn't the time yet."

"You are right, Commissioner. I won't touch the insides of this thing until the Science Labs tell me to. Let's hope that we don't have to live with such time-bombs ready to explode in our closets for much longer or else civilization won't progress…"

21:55 PM (Bermuda Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… Yo~! _Shachou_~! Brought a present did you?"

"Stop imitating Master Yoda and this is serious stuff."

"Chocolate smuggled from Switzerland?"

"Who the hell smuggles chocolate?"

"Uncle Jeremy."

"I don't know any "Uncle Jeremy" and stop screwing around. Go bust WWW Navis in the VR Simulator."

"The holo-deck, _shachou_~!"

"Whatever. Move your legs."

Vadous was walking down a stone corridor somewhere while carrying the box under his right arm when Omega fell down from the ceiling and began to walk next to him while grinning and waving his arms in a comical manner yet Vadous was unimpressed.

"Sure thing! And did ya know that Ms. Lucy called?"

"Please… That of Ms. Lucy is something Sigaano made up out of the blue to confuse Ijuuin."

Vadous stopped in front of a wall and took out a remote from his left pocked which he used to make a portion of it slide away thus revealing an stairway going down: Vadous turned around and signaled Omega with the left hand's middle finger.

"Stay out of here."

"Sure thing! I'm gonna go date Brad Shad."

"Blood Shadow! You moron!"

"I'm 100 times better than Darth Maul!"

"Then come up with a simulation of the guy and try to beat his double light-saber." Vadous challenged.

He walked down the steps into a basement room which only had a stone table with four spheroids set around its corners: he left the box there and then turned around to climb up: he used the remote to close the door and sighed in relief.

"Phew. Now we can be sure that Corruption is not getting out of that box and no – one is gonna use him." Vadous sighed in relief.

"Because he'd end up ruling over the corrupt guys there behind the scenes and making them greedier, ya mean?"

"No. And go collect lilies."

"Sure thing! Bloody Shadowy~! Uncle Jeremy~ has come to have some games with ya~!"

"Stop bullying Blood already! Go to the holo-deck or whatever you call it and blow up WWW Net Navis! That's an order! Go!" Vadous grumbled and a twitch showed up over his right eye.

"Heh, heh, heh!"

Omega dashed down the corridor while Vadous headed upwards and stepped into the room with the armchair and the desk: he sat down on the armchair and turned on his laptop: he let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes.

"Having to jump back and forth half a day isn't funny. But it can't be helped. This spot was ideal to build a facility, after all. Maybe sleeping for a while won't do any harm. After all, this base's location isn't recorded in public and I haven't written anything down about Corruption being housed here! So those three guys can start searching all around Japan in vain." He muttered.

He didn't spot a dragonfly hidden in a corner of the ceiling and which was looking down towards him.

"Blood Shadowy~! Show me your stuff!"

"Sir Omega, sir! I have said it, sir! I don't have "that" on me, sir! Please stop it, sir!" Someone complained.

"OMEGA~!" Vadous yelled.

"Ops. Gotta leave. _Shachou_ got jealous, ya know."

"That's… ridiculous, sir."

Vadous violently stood up and walked over to the door which he slammed open just in time to see Omega run towards the left in a blur: he fumed and cursed under his breath.

"That guy…! I really should store him on the capsule and try to reprogram him to be way more serious!"

"Capsule Man showed up! Shoo, shoo!"

"Shut the trap up! Go sleep!"

"Brad Shad will casted in the next _Sleeping Prince_ film!"

"There's no such film!"

"Ask Video Man!"

"Don't make up silly…!" Vadous began shouting back.

"No, no! There's a guy named Video Man and his Operator is a weird guy named Yamashita Hidenosuke AKA Narcy Hide! He has a cool accent to him and acts like a film director!" Omega announced.

"Grjtx! Alright, so there's a Video Man EXE guy! But there's no Capsule Man and no _Sleeping Prince_ so shove those into the cupboard and go sleep already~!" Vadous yelled.

"Roger, Annie~!"

"For the last time! I have nothing to do with Anakin Skywalker! Stop provoking me with the _Star Wars_ references! Go watch those _Star Trek_ episodes or whatever they're called!"

"Admiral Nelson is knocking at the door! He wants his laser blaster from 666 BBY back!" Omega joked.

Vadous cursed under his breath and looked about to explode…

22:18 PM (Bermuda Time)…

_Where am I…? Who am I…? What am I…? Am I alive? Am I dead? _

"… _Stop right there!"_

"_You won't get any further!"_

"_What foolish bothersome Net Navis! No – one opposes Proto – sama! Become one with His Grace!"_

"_Gua~h!"_

"_Gu… Guo~h!"_

"_Mwa, hah, hah, hah! Learn this, you fools! All those who oppose the will of my Lord, Proto – sama, will be swallowed and absorbed! Out of the way, you fool! Become food for Proto – sama! Blade!"_

"_Guah! Hah! A mere cut won't… affect… me… ugh… guh… uck… ack… GUO~H!"_

"_See? I infect everything I touch! My data quickly replicates and copies inside of Net Navis thus extending to all of it! They become aberrations without a coherent mindset program! Mwa, hah, hah, hah! Proto – sama, my Lord! Here is food for Your Grace! Please absorb it and become stronger! This world is for Proto – sama to rule! Become one with Proto – sama forever! Mwa, hah, hah! I am Corruption: Proto – sama's extensions of His will!"_

_I remember…! I am Corruption…! I am the extension of Proto – sama's will…! However… Something went wrong… Proto – sama's power began to fade… His territories began to decrease… The food reduced… I could not find enough material to maintain my power, which faded… I ended up becoming a useless tool which needed hours to fully infect and corrupt other Navis and devices…!_

"… _You're surrounded! And your power is at the minimum! Now, squad! Let's attack at once! Let's end this crisis!"_

"_You bunch of fools… One day… I shall be resurrected… Gua~h!"_

_And so I have! Yet… I keep on being weak and I am completely disconnected from Proto – sama! I am isolated… _

Two golden/reddish eyes began to glow inside of an unlit space: they looked to the left and right before spotting a round glass wall in front of them: a white hand touched it and the figure came closer to look out and spot a rectangular platform extending past the mirror and with a dead Warp Point at the lowest edge: there was no visible background and all colors were just black and white thus indicating the lack of power or life into this Cyber World.

_This Cyber World… It has a different feel to the ones I used to roam around… I must have been sealed here by the humans… The size of this device is bigger than others… It must have been many, many years… Technology must have progressed… And I currently only have a 5% percentage of Proto – sama's data on me! It is not enough to corrode anything… I shall need someone else to break this from the outside… But it will be hard… I should sleep again and wait for my opportunity… And something tells me that it shall descend upon me soon enough…_

He began to articulate the arms and tried to punch the mirror: nothing happened and a grumble rang out.

_I should have thought it. This mirror is too strong to be broken with mere bare hands! And this system does not have any tags or data labels which I could use to try to re-active my powers… And since this is a perfectly sealed environment there are no inputs from the outside at all. I am left to try to recall the times of glory. But that is good enough for me… Like that gigantic Net Navi which they tried to use to stop me thinking that the bigger the more powerful yet the speed was ridiculously low! I defeated that defective thing in barely 5 seconds and those powerless humans realized that they were foolish and idiotic! Proto – sama's intelligence may have not risen over that of an amoeba but I could understand that it wanted to expand and conquer while assimilating everything and growing in power! At the climax of His rule, over 90% of the Internet was controlled by His Grace! And history shall be repeated! Just you wait… Humans!_

He chuckled under his breath in an evil tone of voice…

10:25 AM (Japan Time), Monday October the 3rd…

"… My, my. _Aibou_! Did you forget me already? I've been in that base before, remember?"

Sigaano Nogaano was sitting atop the desk in the dusty room and using the laptop to spy on Vadous as he banged a metallic door inside of his bas and yelled something.

"… Brad Shad's stuff is 4.9 cm wide!"

"What do I speak, Mongolian? I told you a hundred times already! You, Blood and Sigma DON'T HAVE "THAT"! Now enter that capsule already and leave us in peace!"

"Omega… I really don't understand your obsession with claiming Blood Shadow has that male organ when he clearly doesn't. You're just like me, after all. Why should a robot or a Net Navi need that? I don't see the point to it, really." Sigaano muttered.

He inputted some commands and brought up a screen showing the survivors of the Z – Nation gathered in a Cyber World somewhere and talking as well.

"… The box has been taken out of the bank. It'd be a fool's choice to leave it there after we tried to steal it… And I'm sure it's now on a non-recorded location." Kratins Boo was telling the other two.

"I doubt being on the home of Hikari – hakase. It'd be way too obvious of a spot." Moonlight argued.

"Yeah. And Commissioner Kifune isn't so stupid to try to hide at his home, either." Sunlight grumbled.

"So that leaves us with the ever-so-enigmatic Zataki Tosho. I looked him up and he has a home which is said to be barely visited. We should check there but I suspect that being too obvious of a spot, too. He must have another place elsewhere." Kratins Boo deduced.

"Hot, hot, my dear Kratins Boo…" Sigaano muttered as he formed a smile across his face.

"… For all we know he could be in Oklahoma by now." Moonlight muttered with a shrug.

"Why Oklahoma?"

"Ah! I apologize, Commander, sir! I was rambling aloud, sir."

"Don't mind it. I'd behaved like that, too."

"_Ane – ue_ is fond of Oklahoma's landscapes?" Sunlight joked.

"Shaddup, Sunny."

"You two! I am still your Commander! I order silence and discipline! If we want to eventually rebuild the Z – Nation then we need to start by keeping discipline!" Kratins Boo hissed.

"Roger, sir!"

"My, my. Since you're getting in the hot trail then why don't I reward you guys? Let's send in one of our new proxies."

"Commander! Look!"

"A mask…?"

"I've seen that thing somewhere before."

"Hello. Greet Mujura's Mask." Sigaano spoke into the laptop's microphone as he formed a smile and his teeth became visible.

"Sigaano!" Kratins Boo grumbled.

"Read the data Mujura provided you guys with. It might be useful to you guys. And now I'm off before Nintendo Co. Ltd. sues me… Heh, heh, heh."

"Coordinate data?" Moonlight gasped.

"Could this be…? Corruption's location?" Sunlight grasped.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go! For the Z – Nation!"

"HORRAY~!"

_Here you have a new headache, _aibou_. Try to solve it! Heh, heh, heh!_


	8. Chapter 8: Fugitive

**Chapter 8: Fugitive**

22:58 PM (Bermuda Time), Sunday October the 2nd…

"… This is the place where the coordinates lead us to…"

"Look, _taichou – dono_! The box, sir!"

"Whoa! True!"

"Hmpf. So here it is… In the midst of Bermuda…"

The three Z – Nation survivors appeared inside of the room containing the box and immediately grinned: Kratins Boo walked over to it and picked it up only for a loud claxon-like alarm to ring out.

"OK! Alright! All hands! This is a _real_ Level 10 Emergency! This ain't a drill, Capt'n! Wake up Grand Moff Tarkin and let's deploy the TIE fighters! _Oh yeah_! _Surf and splash_! Proton torpedo incoming through the lazily-built heat exhaust port! Brace for the advent of the Big Bang and let's dance to the rhythmic of Disco Volcano~! _Oh yeah_! Let's go! Level 10 Emergency kicks off and Uncle Jeremy gets inside _Dirty Harry _style~!" Omega's pre-recorded voice rang out.

"That's the most idiotic alarm I've ever heard." Moonlight muttered.

"Sunlight! Ready the "Dimensional Converter"!"

"Roger, sir! I only need 48 seconds to finish booting up, sir!"

"OMEGA! What have you done now?"

"Pandora's Box is shrieking, _shachou_~!"

"By all the… Go chase them!"

"Sunlight!" Kratins Boo hurried.

"Another 24 seconds, sir!"

"Bring Blood and Sigma! Go after them!"

"Now! Transfer!"

11:04 AM (Japan Time), Monday October the 3rd…

"… Huff, huff… We managed to escape…"

"Huh? What's that sticker in the underside?"

"Damn it! A tracer device, you say!"

"Che! Let's hurry it up!"

The trio made it back to an abandoned warehouse-like building with the box and Sunlight spotted a sticker with a button cell inside of it: Moonlight cursed and Kratins Boo grumbled.

"The computer is ready!"

"Good! Let's open this! Hrah!"

Kratins Boo easily pulled the cover out and spotted a red "iomegae eGo 1TB" external HDD inside of the box which was lacking the power and USB cables.

"They were cautious… But we can use any model of wires to plug it into the computer…" Kratins Boo smiled.

Moonlight rummaged into a metallic case and took out the wires needed: she inserted them into the device and then plugged it to an open and running HP laptop atop a crate: the message "NEW USB DEVICE DETECTED: WARP POINT LINKED" appeared on-screen.

"Let's go! Plug – In!" Kratins Boo commanded.

"Roger!"

The three of them aimed their hands at the computer's infrared port and left behind the three Copy Roids to "Plug-In" into the HDD and step inside using the Warp Point: the Cyber World now had "WARNING" signs as background and had gained a dimmed orange-like color: they spotted the mirror with the black frame around it right in front of them.

"There it is!"

"Finally…!" Moonlight grinned.

"WARNING. WARNING. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS. ENGAGE FIREWALLS. REPEAT. ENGAGE FIREWALLS." An auto-voice rang out.

Four slots on the ground turned brighter before four tall and wide firewalls rose from it: each one was about three meters tall and they looked both thick and resistant.

"Damn! We should've expected them to put up some additional security…" Moonlight cursed.

"It'll take a while to break through them." Sunlight grumbled.

"Leave it to me." Kratins Boo told them.

He drew his gun and aimed for the firewall.

"Missile Barrage!"

About 16 missiles formed around the main laser shot and headed for the spot the laser had bounced off: their concussive explosions peeled a hole in the first of four layers.

"Attack the hole with concussion attacks!"

"Moon Meteors!"

"Sun Flares!"

Moonlight opened a black rift and shot several quarter-moon shaped objects at it while Sunlight morphed his two arms into flamethrowers and shot two powerful streams of fire at it thus peeling another two layers away with ease.

"Knife Gun!"

The muzzle was replaced by a large butcher's knife and Kratins Boo ran into the firewall thus piercing it: the whole thing frizzled and collapsed back inside of the ground.

"We only need to repeat the strategy for the next ones! Let's hurry it up before they catch up with us!"

"Roger!"

They didn't spot Corruption looking from behind the mirror and forming a smirk.

_It would seem like someone wants to free me… However! I shall go by no one's rules… The only rules I obey are the will of Proto – sama! _

"… Hrah!"

"Hah!"

"Hoa~h!"

The second firewall soon fell given the combined barrage of attacks and the trio reached the third firewall.

"We're getting closer! Moonlight! Ready the paralysis program! Sunlight! Ready the loyalty program! Today we win!" Kratins Boo ordered.

"Roger, sir!"

"Hrah!"

"Hah!"

"Hoa~h!"

The third firewall didn't fare better than the other two and also was brought down: the group stopped in front of the fourth firewall and Kratins Boo picked some of Moonlight's and Sunlight's grenades as he smiled.

"We can weaken it from the other side and be done faster."

"Not so fast, Moonie, Sunny and Big Boss wannabe."

"That's as far as you come!"

"Come at full power!"

"Damn! They're here!" Moonlight cursed.

"Let's fight back!" Sunlight hissed.

"Bothersome idiots!"

Kratins Boo only had time to throw the grenades over the firewall when Omega gripped him and they did a forceful Plug – Out: another two figures seized Moonlight and Sunlight to draw them outside yet one of the grenades bounced off the ground and ended up rolling at the base of the mirror: it detonated and formed a group of cracks on the lower edge of the mirror.

_Good job, whoever you people are… Now I shall be freed!_

Corruption began to punch the cracks and they expanded with menacing sounds: the mirror looked like it was about to shatter and he inwardly laughed.

_Now! Let us break free once and for all!_

He morphed his two arms into two orange-colored Long Swords and stuck them on the cracks: the whole mirror gave way and shattered into a million fragments.

_Free! I am free!_

Corruption stepped out and the glow from the last active firewall illuminated him.

_Hah, hah, hah!_

He was about a meter and ninety tall and his main body color was white complemented with orange bands circling the lengths of his arms and legs plus a DNA-like drawing across his chest: the emblem was blank and had no drawing at all.

His face's skin was white (like an Albino's) and his eyes' irises were a mix of red and golden: he looked like a man on his mid-20s yet his nose was very small and his mouth looked a bit wider than the usual.

His helmet was white in color: his ear-pads were colored white and had no drawing whatsoever while the large drawing of a cell was painted on the top of his helmet: the forehead had an orange Alphabet "P" character drawn on it: some loose white hair came out from behind the helmet and reached until the shoulders.

His shoulders were built like spheroids and had orange stripes circling them horizontally and vertically: the arms began on the SE and SW corners respectively and also had orange stripes: he currently had two Long Sword Battle Chips colored orange set on his forearms.

His waist didn't have anything on it and his legs were unarmored save for the white "skin" with the orange bands placed at intervals down them: his boots were also white in coloring.

Overall, he looked like a slightly modified mass-produced Net Navi with a recolor job and some slight edits.

_A wise move would be entering the computer this Cyber World is linked to and get up to date. I should firstly try to find a way to make it through this final defense line… Let us think about it taking into account our current power level and our currently available abilities… It should not be very hard…_

Corruption looked up at the firewall in front of him: the effects of the grenades had weakened the rear two layers yet the third and four were still standing: he looked at his swords and grinned.

_Hah! Such a pitiful defense shall not spot the will of Proto –sama! I am His Sword and His Arm! Let us put an end to this imprisonment once and for all to usher into a new age! _

He plunged both swords into the firewall and the made the internal electricity coil around them thus draining it of power and making it lower into the ground: he laughed aloud.

"Free! I am free! Freedom! I can grasp it! Nothing! Nothing can stop the descent of Proto – sama, His resurrection! Foolish humans… Your so-called fail-safes have been defeated one after the other! How foolish! You thought you could take profit of the Proto – sama's power flowing through my very body but no! I shall not obey anyone else but Proto – sama's will and desires!"

He walked down the Cyber World and saw how the signs in the background had become "DANGER" signs: he smiled and chuckled…

11:10 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hah! I'm Sigma! You're over! Come at full power, Sunny~!"

"You lowlife!"

Sigma was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over it.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which was easily over a meter tall.

Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.

"Yo! Moonie~! Eat shotgun from Blood Shadow!"

"Che! What bothersome gnats!"

Blood Shadow, on the other hand, was closer to a meter and sixty tall: his main color of choice was red.

He sported black shades: a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"What power!"

"This is Omega's power, yeah! Be glad I'm not annoyed."

"Damn it!"

"Moon Whip!"

"Sword Fighter X!"

Moonlight had drawn a white whip which was filled with purple static electricity yet Blood Shadow drew a slight curved and indented red-colored blade to intercept it: she formed a grimace while Blood Shadow looked unimpressed.

"Ruin Sols!"

"Wanna play tennis? Hrah!"

Sunlight formed two red spheroids in the shape of "sols" and threw them at Sigma who bounced them off with the sword and made them explode at Sunlight's feet: he groaned and recoiled while cursing under his breath: Sigma formed a smug smile.

"Missile Barrage!"

"O~h… Scary, scary."

Kratins Boo shot the laser and missiles at Omega who didn't even bother to dodge: he pressed a button on his sword and the blade switch to a blood red color: Kratins Boo gasped.

"It couldn't be!" He uttered.

"Yessir! Muramasa Blade~!"

"Uwo~h! Clever bothersome guy!"

Omega hit him and Kratins Boo got an ugly gash on his upper torso: he clutched it with his left hand and cursed something under his breath: Moonlight and Sunlight stopped, surprised.

"Gruh… If we keep like this we might be deleted, even…! We haven't fully healed from the invasion…! Retreat! Abort mission! I'll remember this, you savage!" Kratins Boo roared.

"Hah! Take that!"

11:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Twenty-four years…! I have been sealed during twenty-flour years! Technology has made leaps and bounds in this interval… Space exploration has expanded, and so have telecommunications orbital satellites… Computers now have processors of several Giga Hertz's and some HDD have already gone over the Tera Byte point! The Network has grown a lot and now interconnects a lot of points in the planet… Net Navis have evolved, but at the cost of some of them taking part in evil complots to control the Internet… The "WWW"… The Zero Virus and the "Professor"… "Gospel"… Nebula… The 'Renegades'… Neo Nebula… The "Secret Army"… The "Devil Syndicate"… The "Death Club"… And the now dissolved Z – Nation military… This looks interesting…"

He jumped to another section of the computer and brought up several more files while ignoring the scandal ringing out outside as the six Navis were battling.

"… "Copy Roids"… "Dimensional Areas"… Both of these allow for Net Navis to come into the real world…"Copy Roids" only work as long as they batteries last… If a Navi occupying a "Copy Roid" does not leave it before it is destroyed they are destroyed alongside it… "Dimensional Areas" depend on machines named "Dimensional Converters" which also have a limited running time… Oh? "Cross Fusion"… Fusion of Net Navi and human! This is… more than I could have expected!" Corruption gasped in surprise upon reading the concept.

He quickly brought up more reference files and his eyes quickly scanned them down while shining with malice.

"… "Cross Fusion" is only possible via a device known as "Synchro Chip" and only inside of a "Dimensional Area"… Both Operator and Net Navi must have a high "Synchro" rating and must work in unison for the Cross Fusion to work… However! Any discrepancy between them might provoke the collapse of it… Attacks at the chest emblem also break it with the risk of damaging the Synchro Chip… What? "Dark" Synchro Chips, they say?"

He pressed a button on the screen and switched to the next one.

"Nebula developed "Dark Chips"… They originated from a monster named "Nebula Grey" which in turn was the digitized evil soul of man… They allowed Net Navis to power up at the cost of their own soul… They eventually became dependant on them to keep their data stabilized… They were all destroyed… However, Nebula had managed to develop the "Dark" Synchro Chip… A terrifying tool… Using the power of a Dark Chip, the "Synchro" ratings went up at high rates… The Operator can Cross Fuse and cancels the will of the Net Navi… The Dark Chip's effects would affect him or her as well, turning them into 'evil' humans… The only known way to stop those is to break the chest emblem… Only one case of "Dark" Cross Fusion has been observed, but there are no details about it…"

He pressed the "MENU" button and scrolled down the list of folders before picking one labeled "AFTERMATH OF PROTO REBELLION" which had several files inside.

"… Proto – sama's power was lost along with mine and we were both sealed up: Proto – sama's core was compressed and stored inside of a container yet they installed the "Guardian Program" to keep it sealed: a program so powerful that even by today's standards is considered to be almost unbeatable! Designed by Hikari Tadashi – hakase, lead and creator of the Proto Project… Of course! He was the one overseeing the whole project… What else? Forte! Intriguing. So he is still alive after Proto – sama thought of framing him to stall for time and finish preparing His great campaign… His "Get Ability Program" might have helped… And he seems to have shaken off a long-lasting deep grudge for humanity in general, they say… Proto – sama's core was sealed in the Science Labs behind four doors requiring "Tetra Codes" to unlock which were scattered across the whole world… And I was sealed up in that Cyber World which was moved from HDD to HDD as storage capacity increased… The HDD would in turn be stored inside of a metallic box lacking the wires and the box would be placed in a safe… This safe being located in a high-security underground vault in the Science Labs…! Hah! They were afraid of the power Proto – sama granted into me, eh?"

He laughed and brought up a new set of files inside of another folder altogether.

"Returning to present times… The ones who stopped the "WWW", the "Professor", "Gospel", Nebula, and so on were several persons… The main stars of these events were then eleven-year old Hikari Netto and his Net Navi Rock Man EXE… Grandson of Hikari Tadashi – hakase! I see. Ironic, is that not it? The same bloodline which created and then brought a halt to Proto – sama then began chasing incarnations of "evil"…! Hmmm? What! A whole new sector of the Network, the Reverse Internet, was specifically built to hide the "Giga Freeze Program", one program designed to halt Proto – sama were His Grace to be resurrected… The Reverse Ranked Navis were formed to test the strength of who sought the "Giga Freeze Program"… And their leader is an autonomous all-powerful Net Navi, Serenade! Reverse King! He was hacked in the summer by an intriguing hacker…"

He skipped to the next page and spotted photos of the "Eye of Mordor", the "Pac – Man" and _Mujura's Mask_ which obviously were the avatars Sigaano used to interact with others.

"This hacker is a Net Navi hiding in the real world which uses the human named of "Sigaano Nogaano"…! And he also _stole_ Proto – sama's core from the Science Labs! He created a copy of Serenade to be able to destroy the "Guardian Program" and free Proto – sama yet he hasn't done that yet and his apparitions are done via avatars. He seems to have a lot of knowledge and is in no – one's side rather preferring to play with all parties to spur "dramas"… Dramas, eh? Amusing. Yet… If he did that on July and now is October, why has he not acted yet? Strange. Or… He could be using those as deterrence to keep any enemies away… That makes sense. Anyway… I have seen enough and the battle out there is ceasing. I do not want to be caught, so let us flee."

He closed all menus and ran towards a road labeled "WAN ADAPTER 01" which ended in a Warp Point labeled "Reverse Square SW Corner" so he stopped in front of it and looked back while forming a smug smile.

"Try to catch me, new-generation Net Navis. I will reunite with Proto – sama and the world shall bow to His will once again!"

He laughed in an insane manner and spread his arms wide…


	9. Chapter 9: Hunters' Guild

**Chapter 9: Hunters' Guild**

11:54 AM (Japan Time), Monday October the 3rd…

"… Forte."

"Omega? What's up?"

"Trouble."

"The Z – Nation trio?"

"Forget them. Corruption."

"Huh? Corruption?"

"Ah. True. You never got to know about the jerk."

"Is that the real name of Sigaano?"

"No. But Sigaano is the one who tipped the Z – Nation trio on where we were hiding the guy."

"Sorry. Could ya start at the beginning or make a recap?"

"Fine."

Forte had been sitting on the edge of a small square and looking up something using a holographic screen when Omega caught up with him while looking serious, for once.

"Do you remember "Proto"?"

"How couldn't I? I'm the reason I've spent the last 20 – something years wandering the primitive Internet and then the Reverse Internet when it was built." He grumbled.

"Sorry. Well, it happens that Proto built a Net Navi as a mobile extension and to be able to use its further intelligence: they named him Corruption because he could infect Navis and Network with patches of Proto and absorb their data to feed Proto itself." Omega quickly summed up for him.

"Fitting name, yeah. And what became of that guy?"

"Got sealed up, like Proto."

"Apart or together?"

"Apart. In an HDD hidden inside of a vault… The Z – Nation tried to steal the guy so we swapped it and then sent gigantic Viruses to destroy them… But their three most powerful Navis escaped. They tried to steal the real thing from the bank but I stopped them. Boss was then charged with hiding it but that Sigaano jerk tipped the trio off."

"And the trio took the HDD." Forte deduced.

"Yeah. They took it and although we stopped them before they could break the last firewall, one grenade shattered the mirror into which the jerk had been sealed into to then escape."

"Sealed in a mirror? That reminds me of _Four Swords+ _and the "Dark Mirror" where a "Dark Tribe" had been sealed. Ganon stole the thing and set it to produce countless "Shadow Links"… And I now remember the "Gloom Mirror" of _Twilight Princess_ which is the only known entrance into the "Shadow World"…" Forte looked up.

"Well, the guy got up-to-date while we busy kicking the asses of that bothersome trio and escaped. Now he's loose somewhere and I'm sure it won't be long before Sigaano leads him into finding something to give us a further headache." Omega concluded.

"Lovely. So you want me to try to trace the guy?"

"Yeah. And delete him on the spot: I got permission from the Science Labs, so…"

"Alright. "Gospel Jr."! Get that nose to work. Lead us to the spot from which he fled." Forte called out.

"Grrr!"

"Roger. Let's hurry it up: the sooner we find the guy the better."

"Let's use a _Star Trek_ transport device and warp all across the world!"

Forte laughed at his joke but Omega didn't seem to be in the mood…

12:13 PM (Japan Time)…

"Guys, guys! Big news!"

"What's up, Red Sword?"

"He found the hacker!"

"Could be."

"Listen, Cosmo Man, Blizzard Man and Cloud Man! We've got trouble in the corner of the avenue."

Blizzard Man, Cloud Man and Cosmo Man along with a fourth guy had gathered inside of square with an entrance/exit arch and with a bluish background having the green letters "HG" floating there.

"We've got a walking catastrophe out there."

"Really, Red Sword?"

"Really."

The Net Navi who answered to the name of Red Sword had a wild flock of silver hair which came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them: a purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it and they ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.

His main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.

An emblem with a black edge was set on the chest: it consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line: white was golden and silver was right.

The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.

His right forearm currently held a purple-colored Long Sword with a customized hilt.

The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray and had two purple circles colored yellow inside: a purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.

His boots began slightly below the knee and had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.

"I'm serious, Blizzard Man."

"Didn't say ya weren't, Red…"

"Hmpf. Then be quiet."

"Ya be quiet, Cloud Man!"

"You two… Blizzard Man, Cloud Man… Could we avoid a fight? It'd be pointless, wouldn't it?"

"Well, yeah, Cosmo Man… I wasn't intending to…"

"Huff! Just say "yeah" instead of acting like a politician's apprentice, Blizzard! Get it?"

"Wha~t?"

"These two…"

"Look! Do you want to look like quarreling ducks to Delta – dono? Behave, you two!" Red Sword grumbled.

"Alright! So what's going on out there?" Blizzard Man asked.

"Explain." Cosmo Man urged.

"A Net Navi named Corruption with the ability to alter Navis to obey him is out there. Not unlike what happened in June but the difference is that this guy is virtually powerless by now. We should try to corner and delete him before he can grow into being more dangerous."

"Hum. Is this a job request?" Cloud Man asked.

"Yeah. From the Net Police."

"Good. Then let's get on the move! Hunters' Guild: Move Out!" Cosmo Man rallied.

"Hooray!"

"… A splendid sword… But the entertainment ends here… I have one desire. To bury all "Light" with this loathsome sword!" A manly voice suddenly rang out while sounding amused.

"Who…?" Red Sword cursed.

"I've seen that weird guy somewhere before…" Blizzard Man muttered.

"But how can a human get into the Cyber World?" Cloud Man wondered.

"Dunno." Cosmo Man replied.

"… Sigaano. Is that your real look?"

"Nope. It's a rip-off. Let me introduce you to _daimaou_ Ganondorf from _Twilight Princess_."

"What! THE Ganondorf, you say!"

Indeed: the very same Ganondorf was standing in the entrance while holding a sword: he walked towards Red Sword and a circle of flames suddenly formed around them.

"Enjoy. I've tuned up his AI to make him harder to beat! 2500 HP 'cause I'm too lazy to program "hearts" into you, Red. _No pain no gain_! _Rock 'n roll_! Let's have some fun before we move into the main dish, shall we, my audience?" The "Eye" laughed.

"You lowlife!" Red Sword growled.

"Hrah!"

"Huh!"

CLANG!

"Hra~h!"

"Che."

"Hah!"

"Gah!"

"So?"

"Shut up!"

Red Sword had been distracted yelling at the "eye" when Ganondorf jumped towards him and he barely reacted in time to block his sword with Ganondorf's.

They struggled in the deadlock but Ganondorf broke free of it and slashed Red Sword across his chest: Sigaano then taunted him and Red Sword growled at him.

"Heh, heh, heh. You guys were missing thrill. I brought it. I know Nintendo Co. Ltd. is gonna sue me but who cares."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Red Sword yelled.

"Hrah!"

"Damn!"

CLANG!

"Hah!"

"Ugah!"

"Damn! Red's in a pinch! Can't we do something, guys?" Blizzard Man asked the other two.

"That fight's unfair. Let's abort it." Cloud Man grumbled.

"I agree. Red has lost 500 of his 1500 HP because each attacks clocks at 250 HP of damage. And that guy is just way too overpowered." Cosmo Man sounded annoyed.

"Forte to the rescue~! Earth Breaker!"

"Uga~h!"

"My, my. Forte. You look in top shape today. I saw you yesterday at Ms. Lucy's club with Delta."

"What?"

"Don't play innocent. I've got footage, you know. I didn't suspect you were into the league, too."

Forte jumped into the area and used his Earth Breaker attack which he unloaded into Ganondorf's chest and then brought him to the ground: Sigaano began to sound amused and Forte frowned.

"Akashi won't be amused when I show it to him."

"What has Akashi have to do with this?"

"Don't play innocent, Forte. I know what you're thinking right now. I'm a medium… Or should I say an Esper – Type Pocket Monster?"

"Wha~t? Shut your trap, Sigaano!"

"Hit a spot, I can see that. And you haven't saved often. You're a guy who is careful of traps. And you're the methodical type who ties his shoes' strings before setting off." Sigaano listed.

"You're imitating Psycho Manthis, aren't you?"

"Bravo."

"Heh, heh, heh…" Ganondorf chuckled and stood up.

"Oh well. But this guy still has 2250 HP left so it's up to you two to bring him down. I'm off to show this to Akashi and stir up the "Dark Side" which is sleeping inside of him. Heh, heh, heh. That will be amusing to see, I daresay."

"Oi, wait! I demand to see that footage!"

"Too bad. I've already set my mind. But be glad I ain't the paparazzi type who wants to sell this to a magazine!"

The "Eye" vanished while laughing and Forte drew the Dark Arm Blade to block Ganondorf's next attack.

"You're uglier than Aunt Ermenganda. Go back to your game and don't come out again. Air Burst! Hell's Buster! Hell's Rolling! Die already and do us a favor!"

"Guah! Gruah! Guo~h!"

"How was that?" Forte taunted.

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Damn. Still 1250 HP left…"

"Delta Ray Edge!"

"Guack!"

Red Sword drew a red triangle which propelled Ganondorf towards the wall and made him crash against it: he jumped back down and kept on smiling.

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Can't this guy do anything else? Shut the trap up. Step away, Red! I'm going for it!" Forte told him.

"Alright!"

"Darkness… Overload! TAKE THIS!"

"UGO~H!"

There was an explosion and a long roar of agony but when the smoke cleared Ganondorf was still standing although his balance had begun to worsen.

"Damn. Another 250 HP left…"

"Step away, Forte! The final blow! Go!"

Red Sword drew what looked like a gun having two curved extensions colored purple: he built up a red sphere of energy along with some static electricity and shot them combined at Ganondorf: he collapsed into the ground.

"D-don't think all ends here…! Think of this as the beginning of the bloodstained history of "Light" and "Dark"…! Guao~h!"

His body was deleted and the group sighed in relief: Forte then looked at his cape and saw that some of it had gotten burned.

"Time to get this repaired again… Anyway… Thanks for the help, Red. I'm also looking for Corruption around Reverse Square: later! The sooner we find the guy the better!" Forte rushed out.

"Good! Then we'll focus on the Reverse Internet. And I don't think he's strong enough to survive for long in the WWW Area, either. Hunters' Guild: move out!"

"I bet the guy will be lurking in a Family Mart store in Kurashiki! I'll get there ahead of ya, Cloud!"

"Kurashiki! That's too far away! I bet he's in Kiso Valley! I'll get there before you do, Blizzard Man!"

"I'd rather say Ginza, in Tokyo." Cosmo Man drily muttered.

"Wrong! He's just escaped! He can't have gone so far! He's got to be in the upper levels of the Reverse Internet!" Red Sword fumed.

"Ah! Say that earlier, man! Thought he'd run off a week ago! Let's go the Reverse Internet!"

"My speed will get me there first!"

"But don't get too close to the culprit either." Cosmo Man warned.

"Hunters' Guild: move out!"

"HOORAY~!"

12:24 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. All the actors are gathered. We'll soon jump to a new phase of this drama but let's check on our gentlemen."

Sigaano was checking what was going using the laptop: he inputted a series of commands and brought imagery of Forte and "Gospel Jr." running down a road.

"Good, good. Follow the fake trail I set up. You'll end up meeting a certain gentleman down there. Heh, heh, heh."

He switched screen to show Cloud Man and Red Sword questioning two Reverse Internet Net Navis.

"Didn't you see a newcomer who was all white with orange bands pass through the square or the outer areas of it?"

"Yeah, I did… He looked in a rush and only stopped to ask if this was Reverse Square. I told him "yeah" and he merely moved on. Could be anywhere by now, right, _aniki_?"

"Yeah. Is there a bounty on the guy?"

"We've been charged with handling the guy." Cloud Man warned.

"Huh! Then go ahead, mates."

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."

"… Heh, heh, heh. My imposter worked as well…"

He lastly spied on Cosmo Man and Blizzard Man as they ran down a ramp, Blizzard Man skiing it down.

"They said he went in this direction… I guess the deeper the harder to find the guy is." Blizzard Man commented.

"Heh. He'll soon regret going so deep unprepared."

Sigaano shut the laptop and left it atop the table while forming a smile.

_Soon a new terror will visit you gentlemen… Heh, heh, heh!_


	10. Chapter 10: Revived terror

**Chapter 10: Revived terror**

12:49 PM (Japan Time), Monday October the 3rd…

"… Damn! It was a bad idea to go to such depths unprepared! These Viruses are powerful and my power is weak!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Need a hand, Corruption?"

"Who goes there?"

"Sigaano Nogaano."

"The hacker!"

"Yessir! Here! Accept this small present."

"What?"

Corruption was having trouble making it through the deeper areas of the Reverse Internet when Sigaano's voice rang out of nowhere: he stopped and looked upwards to see a guy wearing a purple mantle and cap plus having pale-like skin and reddish eyes: he didn't look taller than a meter and sixty.

"Allow me to introduce you to Sorcerer Gufuu from the _Mysterious Hat _game… He will use his cap to grant wishes into you to grant you what you desire… In short: power. Well? Aren't you interested?" Sigaano spoke through him.

"Another avatar, then." Corruption muttered.

"Coming!"

Sorcerer Gufuu chuckled and opened his hands to reveal a small orange orb which he let fall: Corruption caught it and spotted how it had an eye on its plus some tendrils.

"This is…! A piece of Proto – sama's data…!"

"Absorb it and your power shall increase again. And I'll grant you something else… The entrance to the Realm of the Dead… Heh, heh, heh, heh…" Sigaano chuckled.

A Warp Point formed in front of Corruption and he looked surprised: he firstly made a cut to his body with the Long Sword and the spheroid broke down into data which flew inside of him: his orange drawings began to glow with a gloomy intermittent light and his body's brightness was dimmed: his eyes began to burn with malice and some vein-like patterns spread around his body.

"Power… Power is rising! This new data is fusing with my old data and creating a new breed! I soon shall gain the power to "corrupt" anything I touch again!" He laughed.

"Good. Then step here before they close on you: I sent them into fake trails for the time being and placed some guys to stall yet it won't be long before they catch up with ya." Sigaano told him.

"So you plan on using Proto – sama as deterrent?"

"Yessir. Correct."

"Hmpf. I will find out who you really are and where you are… And then I shall retrieve Proto – sama!"

"Fair enough. _Good luck_."

Corruption ignored him and stepped into the Warp Point: he ended up in a new sector of the Network which was filled with a strange fog and had several gravestones erected into it: he formed a smile and looked around until he found one which had "AIR MAN: DELETED ON SUMMER 2009" plaque on it.

"Heh, heh, heh. So that is what you expect of me, Sigaano?"

"Correct. 24 years ago you were one of the most powerful because Forte was still a rookie but things have changed drastically. There are a lot of powerful Navis now. You could use the ones who fell and infuse them with new life. I'll grant you the power to enter the real world, too."

"Hmpf. Fine. Let us begin! Awaken, Air Man EXE! Let your body become a vessel of Proto – sama's will!"

"The new terror is starting, gentlemen."

13:03 PM (Japan Time)…

"HOA~H!"

"… Oi. Don't scare me, Saito – niisan."

"Huh? What?"

"What was that?"

"Sounded like a duck…"

"Ookarada's stomach."

"E~H?"

"Chut!"

"Ahem, ahem."

"Be silent!"

"Please be quiet!"

The 2 – A class had been in the middle of a lesson when a yell rang out not too far away: everyone stopped and began to whisper but the teacher imposed silence.

"I'll go check. Don't move from your seats and… What in the…?"

"T-that's…!"

The teacher had been about to go out when all of the environment's colors got replaced by random colors and the atmosphere seemed to change somehow, too.

"A "Dimensional Area"…! It's been ages since we'd last one seen one! When was the last time? Whoa! A year ago, when those "Secret Army" Net Navis popped out in the real world…!" Netto whistled.

"So this is a "Dimensional Area"…? Dad told me about them, yeah."

"HOA~H!"

"Isn't that…?"

"No way! We beat the guy over two years ago."

"HOA~H! DESTROY~! KILL! MURDE~R! DAIMAOU GANON WISHES DESTRUCTION! DESTRUCTIO~N! HOA~H!"

"Come at full power!"

"Wait. He looks weird."

"Don't tell me…"

"Let's try to bring this fight outside, into the yard, Sir Omega!"

"Good idea! Oi! Ugly zombie wannabe! Bite my shining sword!"

"Not bad. Fan Man! Over here!"

"HOA~H! DESTROY ALL INTERLOPE~RS!"

"Whoa! Air Man!" Netto gasped.

"But what do they mean by "he looks weird"…?" Hiro wondered.

"Dunno." Hikawa shrugged.

"What's this about?" The teacher demanded as he came out.

"Net Police collaborators! We gotta delete this criminal. We're gonna draw the guy into the yard." Omega replied.

"And how are you…?"

"This strange space, ya see. And the devices are protected so we can't shut it down."

"HOA~H! NO – ONE ESCAPES AIR MAN – SAMA~! HOA~H!"

"I guess the thing is set to shut down if this guy gets deleted…"

"Oi! Bite my sword!"

"HOA~H! NO RUNNING AWAY~!"

"Why won't this guy stop speaking in _katakana_?"

"Ask Katakana Man."

The students quickly jumped off their chairs and rushed to the windows to look out into the yard and realize the perimeter of the school was encompassed within a strange dome made of fused hexagons and which looked impenetrable: Omega, Sigma and Blood Shadow ran out into the outer yard followed by Air Man.

"Look!" Saito gasped.

"By all the…!" Everyone gasped.

Air Man's appearance had changed in a dramatic manner: various parts of his body had scars from which an organic-looking orange-colored mass emerged which had some kind of tendrils extending over his body and connecting with other patches plus his eyes irises were now purple and shone with malice.

"What happened to the guy?" Hiro wondered.

"Maybe that "Corruption" guy infected him? We got a mail from them saying that he'd escaped…" Tomono ventured.

"That "Corruption" must be a_ zombie_ film fan, then." Meiru dully muttered.

"Step back." Omega commanded.

"Roger!"

"Eat this! Plasma Round!"

Omega shot a white spheroid of plasma surrounded by a containment field of static electricity: the blast hit Air Man's fan and melted it down: he stepped back but then Omega jumped into the air and drew the blade: he placed both feet on the lower edges of the blade and drove it into Air Man's head: he lost balance and collapsed into the ground while Omega retrieved the blade.

"Blood! Finish this thing off."

"Roger, sir!"

"Heh, heh, heh… How _naïve_, guys!"

"HOA~H!"

To everyone's surprise, Air Man suddenly began to groan and make guttural noises as a large stream of the orange mass came out from where the right shoulder had been at and formed an organic-looking claw arm: a gun's barrel emerged from inside of the fan.

"HOA~H! AIR MISSILE~!"

Air Man formed a thick missile which shot towards the group but Blood Shadow split it on halt thus blowing it up: Omega then attacked his forehead yet a gash opened and a monstrous "eye" formed inside of it before it began to look around.

"Alright, guys... That wasn't expected..." Omega muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Corruption is fond of _anime_ monsters, huh?" Blood Shadow muttered with some sarcasm.

"Whatever. Let's end this before someone gets hurt." Sigma grumbled in clear annoyance.

"Blood! I have an idea. Place the shotgun inside of the barrel and shoot the insides: we might blow him up like this!"

"Roger! Eat this, freak! Charged shotgun shot!"

The charged shot apparently detonated the loaded missile and Air Man exploded into a thousand fragments which flew off in all directions: Blood Shadow was pushed back by the explosion and he groaned: everyone looked at how all fragments fell down into the ground and stayed there: they sighed in relief.

"Huh? Look there!" Sigma gasped.

All the remains suddenly crawled towards one spot and began to merge until they formed an orange-colored figure which looked like a man: Hiro suddenly gasped and focused his sight.

"No way…" He muttered.

"Who's that?"

"Vamp! Freaking Vamp! _MGS4: Guns of the Patriots_! A Romanian knife-using assassin…! Former Navy SEALs… He's fond of knives and sometimes has a vampire complex… He wouldn't die for some reason which turned out to be nanomachines regenerating his wounds at mad speed and healing them, even if they were shots in the forehead!" Hiro explained in a rush.

"Heh, heh, heh. Come! Kill me."

"Since you wanna die so badly… Demon Laser!"

"Awra~h!"

"Hey! You weren't supposed to use fire." "Gufuu" complained as he stood on the rooftop.

"Happens that we don't play by your rules, Tab – chan!" Omega shouted at "Gufuu" with a smile.

"Sorcerer Gufuu is here too! Lovely." Saito cursed.

"Vamp" had been set on fire by two red lasers Sigma shot from his eyes and got deleted until not trace was left: "Gufuu" made an exaggerated sighed and looked exasperated.

"I never liked that nickname of yours, Omega."

"Maybe Tabby – chan fills better?"

"None do. Just call me Sigaano."

"Why do you refuse to acknowledge your real name?" Blood Shadow demanded.

"'Cause I wanna play around with suspense… Anyway… Use your brain's gray cells and answer this, Omega. _Where_ did Corruption get good old Air Man's data?"

"… The Graveyard…!" Omega gasped.

"Oh crap!" Blood Shadow and Sigma gasped.

"A little clarification for our beloved audience, though… The Graveyard is an enigmatic Area of the Network where most deleted Net Navis' data ends up to… Someone saw it fitting to mirror the real world graveyard in this aspect. It's connected to the Reverse Internet yet I've already sealed up all entrances with four layers of customized firewalls courtesy of the Pentagon." "Gufuu" smiled as he glanced at the students looking out into the yard.

"Lovely." Netto grumbled.

"And Corruption will surely find data from all WWW Navis, "Gospel" Navis and the Navis who worked for the "Professor"… I hope that "Death Shadow" guy isn't included, too." Saito cursed.

"No, no. He is not given how he was deleted outside of Earth… But he who warns a traitor is not! Am I right, my dear audience?"

"Che." Hiro grumbled.

"I see that my presence is only increasing bad feelings about my person so if you excuse me… _Au revoir_."

He made a reverence and then vanished by turning transparent: the "Dimensional Area" began to break down and three Navis disappeared from the yard before it had been completely shut down: everyone sighed in relief.

"Phew. At least no – one got hurt." Tomono muttered.

"What a jerk!" Yaito cursed.

"Yeah. And this had to be a pilot episode." Hikawa muttered.

"Ahem, ahem! Return to your desks and we will make an inspection of any damage to the school. Study pages 33-34 because I WILL ask you questions about them." The teacher cleared his throat.

"_Hai, sensei_~!"

"And let's hope no more trouble comes to this school… This is the third time in a row!"

13:24 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello there."

"You again… What happened to the guinea-pig?"

"Got beaten but I found out something… The remains can be used to form other programs made entirely of "Proto Data"…"

"What! Really? Then they turn deadlier when you destroy their normal bodies?"

"If you'd let me…"

"I can see you are serious. Fine. But if all these Navis fail then I desire to witness if Rock Man EXE is as strong as they say…"

"Deal."

Corruption had been standing in front of a gravestone having a hole on it and with some purple data merging inside of it: the gravestone had a "CUT MAN EXE: DELETED SUMMER 2009" label on it and Cut Man's body could be partly seen: Sigaano was still using the "Gufuu" avatar.

"Why do you use avatars, though?"

"Easy. They can't hurt me directly or steal data from me. The avatars are customized programs or Navis, after all." Sigaano replied.

"Hmpf. Fine… But you would be better off not trying to turn me into your pawn because I only obey Proto – sama."

"Of course, of course."

"Hah. Both of you fools have been drawn together by my power and only mine…"

They looked at their right to see a purple-colored Quick Man grinning at them while his eyes' irises had turned red and golden: his voice sounded different, too.

"Quick Man EXE? But I have not begun the reconstruction yet… Who is that, then?" Corruption frowned.

"Ah… Nebula Grey's avatar…" Sigaano sounded amused.

"What! Nebula Grey? Had Forte not deleted it _twice_?"

"Hah! That foolish Net Navi may have destroyed my physical form but those were imitations. My true form, a simple program, could be separated from it! I draw "hatred", "grudge" and "evil" together and stir up chaos! Incarnations of my "hatred" and my "grudge" shall chase you lowlifes forever until the end of Time Eternal!" "Quick Man" proclaimed while sounding amused.

"What!" Corruption gasped.

"My, my. I wonder if his influence can overcome time-space, too… Can you?" Sigaano asked.

"You lowlife and I are identical in this aspect." "Quick Man" quickly confirmed without sounding impressed.

"See? I suspected that. Heh, heh, heh."

"What! Overcome time-space? What does that mean?" Corruption asked Sigaano.

"Means that it will last forever or until the world is no more… And that his influence reaches farther than one should imagine… In my case I mean I was granted powers to manipulate "time" and "space" to my profit and study other planes of "space" and the flow of "time"… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" Sigaano chuckled.

"So laugh while you can. But know that ultimately I shall be the one to laugh. I am the Demon God Nebula Grey… An existence far above that of you, ghost of the past yet maybe not so above that traveler come from ancient eras and far reaches of space…"

"T-this is turning crazy." Corruption muttered.

"On the contrary: it's getting interesting."

"Hah, hah, hah…"

Nebula Grey laughed, Sigaano chuckled and Corruption gulped…


	11. Chapter 11: Mind intruder

**Chapter 11: Mind intruder**

22:55 PM (Japan Time), Monday October the 3rd…

"… All of the other Net Navis' implementation with Proto – sama's data is proceeding yet I do not except all of them to be finished before Wednesday at this rate."

"I never said we were in a rush."

"Where did Nebula Grey go off to?"

"Dunno. I guess it's found a way to turn invisible and is looking on while laughing."

"Che. Bothersome shape-shifting program… No – one laughs at the will of Proto – sama!"

"Of course not. And I'm serious. Else why would have I bothered to make you come this far and to keep Proto safe from the dirty hands of the Z – Nation?"

"You stay here."

"Huh? Going out?"

"There is something I want to experiment with, an ability of mine… But fear not: I shall not engage anyone in battle. And I am sure those Navis are waiting for me to finish preparing the "undead ones"…"

"Alright. I'll give you a stealth camouflage device. Good luck."

"You stay here and do not touch anything: just make sure they behave like they are supposed to behave."

"Don't worry. I know my place."

"Gufuu" and Corruption were talking inside of the Graveyard: Corruption looked serious and so did "Gufuu" so Corruption shrugged and picked up a program "Gufuu" held out.

"I shall be back in about an hour. Watch the breeding grounds until then, alright?"

23:08 PM (Japan Time)…

_First stop… Let us see…_

Corruption had entered a Cyber World somewhere: he brought up a holographic screen and studied it for a while before pressing a button: he ended up projecting out of a Link PET within an unlit room: two beds with people sleeping on them could be seen.

_Good. Now I shall use my ability to turn my thoughts into a Wi-Fi signal and interact with systems as mere thought data…_

He concentrated and a flash occurred: when it cleared his body had turned "transparent" and he was standing inside of a Cyber World which looked like a library having bookcases with several books on them: he studied them.

_Data here belongs to the current year, 2011, and there is one entry per day… But it would seem the earliest entries date January, 2010, and some files have been swapped. The originals must have been stored elsewhere, yet… This Cyber World… I see! A chip implant in a human brain which helps control and alter memories… it must be designed to handle traumatic memories and the system works like swapping the contents of a book with that of another which is rather similar yet it has radical differences in the "troublesome" spots… An impressive job of engineering! Hikari Netto! You do have memories you would rather not revive again for fear of your system crumbling away… But I cannot interact with anything in this form and this Cyber World was not designed for a Net Navi to enter, anyway. Let us retreat and check out Hikari Saito… Maybe he also has a similar implant?_

He flashed and appeared inside of Netto's Link PET again: he concentrated but this time, instead of just flashing and warping, he witnessed how he travelled up a tunnel, past five security gates which were open and finally entered a core area shaped like a sphere: various circular circuit board-covered catwalks were built around a tall metallic column with several grooves on it: there was a warp point built on a square platform set in front of the column: a segment of it was made of glass.

_W-what in the…? What is this Cyber World…? What were that tunnel and those gates…? And this place is…? That column seems to be the center, the core… What is it? Let us explore!_

Corruption swiftly and silently floated down until he reached the inactive Warp Point: he then looked into the glass and spotted a dormant Navi inside of it who had many sensor wires attached to his body.

_Is that…? Rock Man EXE? But… What is he doing here? And what is this place to begin with, anyway? I just wanted to check if Hikari Saito's brain had a chip implant or not and… Impossible! Is this… HIS brain? A cybernetic brain? _

He began to look around again: most of the Cyber World was dimly lighted, as if to indicate the status of the person.

_Of course… Given how he is sleeping, then, it is not surprising that the level of activity is at a minimum… But… Why is Rock Man EXE here? And who is Hikari Saito? Why does he need such a brain system? To fuse with Rock Man or...? Wait! What if he IS Rock Man AND Hikari Saito? It sounds far-fetched, yet… Hmmm… No. I am sure Sigaano would try to avoid my questions. I shall check it out myself! But let us pay a visit to another certain two which have picked my interest… _

He retreated and returned to Netto's PET: he brought up some data and checked it out.

_Rock Man barely comes here. And the last time he did… He transferred to Cyber World with a blank ID tag. Strange, bizarre… Maybe if I go to the Science Labs and sneak inside using Rock Man's passwords then I can find some info. Who could have it? Obviously Hikari Yuuichirou – hakase, son to Hikari Tadashi – hakase, Proto – sama's creator… Maybe he is somewhat absent-minded and forgets notes there and there… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… I am unraveling intriguing information which I could use as deterrent as well!_

Chuckling under his breath, he shut down the screen and ran outta the Link PET while a smirk was drawn across his face and his eyes began to shine with malice…

23:19 PM (Japan Time)…

_Second and last stop! Heh, heh, heh. Let us see!_

Corruption projected himself using Hiro's PET and looked around the bedroom: he and Delta were sharing the bed and sleeping while facing opposite directions.

_Let us begin with the outwards one…_

He focused and saw rows of raw data scrolling down his irises: he closed his eyes and brought the right hand to his chin.

_Hmmm… A materialized Net Navi, then? He has to be Delta EXE. Yet… His data structure and outwards appearance are strikingly similar to that of Rock Man… I need to investigate this further. Things are not as simple as they seem in this age. But to think technology has advanced to the point you can duplicate a human brain by storing a Net Navi's frame inside of it and then making his consciousness program run into it…! Superb! Magnificent! Splendid!_

He chuckled under his breath and then looked at Hiro who was snoring and had a smile on his face.

"Hmmm… Drake… Get ready… I've got a surprise for ya~… We'll have fun, ya see~…" He muttered while sleeping.

_Hmpf! Laugh while you can, Akashi. Soon I shall make fear crawl into your mortal body and let it rule you! Let us see who you really are!_

He flashed and felt the same thing he'd felt while he'd been exploring Saito's brain given how he passed through several gates and entered a similar sphere-shaped area: however, there was no tall column on the middle and, rather, a metallic sphere with many antennae protruding from it could be seen.

_Hmmm… So his brain is slightly different given how his "self" seems to be of human origin yet they had to use this system… Let us hasten to the Science Labs! I am sure the info is in there! I shall then force Sigaano to fill in the missing gaps!_

23:25 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Sorry for the late night visit, but I thought I should tell you that they've found a weakness to any Net Navis Corruption might throw at us, Serenade…"

"Do tell me, Forte."

Forte was speaking with a Serenade inside of a Network area which was illuminated with a bright blue light and the ground was made of black and white tiles.

"Fire."

"Fire…"

"Yeah. So whatever the guy throws at us can then be burned and driven to complete and total self-deletion. But I guess Sigaano will program them to act like video games characters ripped off who knows where. Don't be too surprised."

"Kush, kush… Surprised, us? No, we shall not be. Kush, kush… A foul wind is blowing…"

"Dark Man… Have you finished by challenge?"

"I am close, Reverse King… 9969…"

"_When_ did you give him the challenge?"

"Oh. That would be about over a decade ago."

"Over a decade ago and he's done in 9969 Net Navis? Man. You're something, Dark Man."

"Kush, kush…"

"Hum! Reverse King. I have detected an intruder. It is quickly approaching this area…"

"Is that so, Yamato Man?"

"Sigaano!"

"… My country lay within a desert. The day was filled with an incandescent wind… When the moon came up there was a bone-chilling wind… The wind carried "death" with it… The wind blowing across the land of Hyrule carried something different than "death"… I might have wished to possess this wind, even… You could say it's a cause-effect reaction given how the crest-holders have once again gathered here… "I shall grant the desire of the one who touches me"… It is said that the Gods shall descend when "power", "wisdom" and "courage" are gathered… The one who touches the power of the Gods, namely the Triforce, shall have his wish granted… The crest of "wisdom" is already in my hands…" A voice rang out.

"Oh crap! Ganondorf from the _Wind Baton_!" Forte cursed.

Indeed: this Ganondorf was smiling and looking confident.

"… What's left is… Don't fret… I won't kill you… I just happen to have a use for your body… So! Let us finish our relationship right here! Gods! Hear out my desire! Expose this land to the day once again! Let Hyrule be within MY hands!" He didn't realize he was "out of context" to begin with.

"What "gods"?" Serenade wondered.

"Go look it up on Wikipedia. I'm not in the mood to tell legends right now…" Forte grumbled.

"… What silliness! You gnats'… future, did you say? Alright… I'll show it to you gnats… You gnats' future… That so-called "hope"… How much worth they have! And how much worth the Triforce is!"

He suddenly drew two _katana_ – like swords and jumped towards Serenade who merely placed the ribbons in front of him: a sonic boom hit Ganondorf and he stepped back.

"Hah, hah, hah!"

"Lovely. Like the one before the only thing it can between battles is to laugh." Forte grumbled.

"Hah, hah, hah!"

"Let me handle it!" Yamato Man requested.

"Go." Serenade authorized.

"Thousand Spear!"

Yamato Man began to move his spear forward several times at a quick speed while changing the angle of attack and the height: Ganondorf blocked all of the attacks and easily countered each and every one of them thus forming wounds on Yamato Man's body: he growled and stepped back.

"Damn."

"Killer Beam!"

Dark Man shot a beam shaped like a star at Ganondorf and he got hit fully thus getting stunned.

"Dark Shadow!"

A purple and black axe formed and flew forward to hit the chest and get embedded there: Ganondorf suddenly unleashed a barrage of sword slashes into Dark Man and he had to step back too.

"By all the… This guy is overpowered!"

"Feared as much…" Forte muttered.

"Come, Great Demon King. I shall slay you." Serenade challenged.

"Hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"That's his insane laugh upon realizing all his hopes are lost along with the land of Hyrule." Forte muttered.

"Holy Shock."

Several greenish spheroids travelled across the ground and hit Ganondorf thus stunning and distracting him.

"Holy Light."

A small spheroid colored blue and with a light sparkle inside of it flew towards Ganondorf and "electrocuted" him with golden-like electricity.

"Gruoh!"

Ganondorf smiled and looked ready for more: he tried to hit Serenade with his barrage but the ribbons halted all of his attempts: a Sonic Boom formed as a reply and several were shot out until Ganondorf collapsed into his knees while forming a smile.

"Heh… Heh, heh… The wind's… blow… ing…" He managed to mutter in a whisper.

He was deleted and a large blue diamond fell down into the ground to the surprise of everyone.

"You got 100 Rupees! You gotta be feeling lucky!" Sigaano's pre-recorded voice joked.

"What a jerk." Forte grumbled.

"So his new tactic is to extract characters from video games and uploading them into the Cyber World with further HP and AI?" Serenade summed up without being too surprised.

"Yeah. The whole thing in a nutshell…"

"Hum! If they come back… I shall be ready." Yamato Man muttered as he looked at his spear.

"Kush, kush… They better not underestimate us…" Dark Man muttered with some annoyance.

"Yamato Man, Dark Man. Take a rest. Heal your wounds. We need to be fresh for the upcoming war." Serenade ordered.

"I'm off to napping. It's almost midnight, anyway." Forte barely repressed a yawn.

"Good. Let us hope we can win this war."

"We'll win… No matter what! Right, guys!"

"For victory~!"

_Get ready, you punk! We're coming for you at full power! Hmpf!_

23:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I have heard of your latest exploit. But since you did not move from here then I shall not complain."

"Heh, heh, heh. News leak out quickly nowadays."

Corruption returned into the "Graveyard" and looked slightly intrigued while "Gufuu" was smiling.

"Why do you have to steal the characters, though?"

"You mean rip them off. There's a saying which says that people sometimes wish to meet a certain character on the flesh. I am just making that possible."

"Hum. So that is the reason…"

"Others want to become that character that badly that they disguise to look as close as possible to him and copy his behavior. I know a man who does that."

"Ah. By the way. I found some intriguing information on the origin of Akashi and Delta yet I am sure you knew it to begin with."

"Like Snake said in _MGS2: Sons of Liberty_… You didn't ask." "Gufuu" shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Which means that he knew something vital for someone else yet he did not disclose it given how he did not see it being necessary?" Corruption seemed to get the grace.

"Yessir. And now we're just waiting for the signal and for everything to be ready. Almost all Net Navis are ready by now and I have compiled a list of locations to send them with. Let us pit them against respective opponents and then form new enemies which will force the fighters to improvise if they want to survive…" "Gufuu" teased with a grin.

"Hmpf. Fine. War! Let there be war!"

Both laughed aloud in a victorious tone and did not see the purple Quick Man chuckling in a hollow tone of voice…


	12. Chapter 12: War

**Chapter 12: War**

18:08 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday October the 5th…

"… All is ready."

"Good, good… Let us open the gates of Hell, shall we?"

"Hmpf. Fine."

"Gufuu" and Corruption were standing in the Graveyard Area where several figures were standing in front of them aligned as if they were an army: they all emitted dim orange glows.

"You have prepared everything on your side?"

"I have."

"The list of targets including coordinates and deciding if it is worth to materialize them is ready, too?"

"Everything is ready, _Comrade_."

"Remember. If all fails, then let them come inside. I want to test Rock Man EXE myself." Corruption reminded him.

"No problem."

"And I suppose you have prepared a plan in case I was brought down as well, am I right? After all this "cooperation" is just a temporary thing because I stir up chaos." Corruption guessed.

"True. Yet is that not the way the world works, after all?"

"Hmpf. Whatever. As long as you end up releasing Proto – sama then I will be satisfied." Corruption folded his arms.

"I do plan on releasing Proto but that will be saved for further ahead and I want to strike from an unexpected angle."

"Good. Then let us begin already. Open, gates of Hell!"

"Heh, heh, heh… Welcome to war, gentlemen. This is how wars will be fought in this 21st century! Heh, heh, heh!"

18:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So! A "Dimensional Area" has formed on this warehouse where we've been called here to figure out who spawned it. Are you ready, Rock Man? We'll have to do "Cross Fusion" again after a long while!"

"I'm ready, Netto – kun!"

Netto was standing inside of a warehouse filled with crates and boxes while holding his Link PET: Rock Man was projecting out of it and looked calm so Netto nodded in agreement.

"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"

Netto took out a special metallic Chip having a green dome on the middle with a black rim and the Hikari crest placed SE of it: he slotted it into the Link PET and held it out with both hands as both he and Rock Man yelled the word "Cross Fusion" and the Link PET began to glow as it became a white spheroid in rapid expansion.

"Here we go!"

The spheroid of light expanded to cover his body: the Link PET broke down into data and Netto instinctively closed his eyes as he spread his limbs.

"This feeling…!" He muttered.

"I know…!"

The light finally dimmed to reveal how he and Rock Man had achieved some kind of "fusion" form: he had gained Rock Man's bodysuit over his normal clothes but with some design differences.

The helmet's design differences were abundant: a bright blue-colored fin-shape piece formed at the sides, emerging from the ear pads' upper edge and extended until the end of the helmet: an arch was drawn over it and the space inside of it had a deeper tonality of blue.

A complicated drawing was imprinted within the forehead and the helmet's front now extended until the start of the nose: his hair now flowed out in a more natural manner from behind it.

The plating over his shoulders had a more pyramid-like form and was aiming towards the NW and NE, respectively.

A pale blue border formed around it and a straight line travelled towards the emblem to form a curve surrounding the lower half of it: the curve ended with a small 'spike' drawing pointing downwards.

His forearm design included a thin separation around the elbow: the two combined section formed a hexagon with a green jewel set on its center.

The short section set on the rear half of the elbow was colored navy blue while the rest of the forearm was slightly brighter.

The blue borders travelling down the sides of his upper body ended around the hips: two circular bands of the bright blue color were drawn over them with a small separation between them.

His boots' design was based upon that of his forearms: the soil was painted black and separated from the rest of the foot by a thin bright blue line.

The jetpack design had changed a bit, too, and it now included bright blue pieces connecting the upper right and left edges with the body: a curved red line was drawn half-way across it: the rest of the backpack looked identical to how Rock Man's usual form.

"Cross Fusion: Success!" Both announced.

"Heh, heh, heh. Welcome to my sub-zero world, Cross Fusion Rock Man EXE!"

The whole warehouse suddenly froze and ice spears formed on the ceiling: Netto gasped and looked around.

"That voice…!" He muttered.

"Damn." Rock Man cursed, for once.

"Heh, heh, heh. By the will of Proto – sama, I have been resurrected to bury you lowlife…"

"Jeez. They never stay dead!"

Freeze Man EXE suddenly materialized inside of the warehouse space while looking amused: his eyes now shone with an orange glow and he had some orange mass over his arms and legs: some of the mass had formed a mouth on the middle of the chest thus replacing his Navi emblem.

"Freeze Man… Gospel's strongest Net Navi! We had to fight this guy twice over two years ago, in August 2009!" Netto muttered.

"Lovely." Rock Man grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Ice Tower!"

"Yikes!"

Cross Fusion Rock Man jumped out of the way as some spears came out of the ground around where he'd been at: he drew the Rock Buster and began to shot at Freeze Man who didn't even flinch.

"I better find the Battle Chip I saved up." He muttered.

"Luckily it was set as default, so… Battle Chip, Ojiouzan!"

A small statuette formed on the field and one Ice Tower hit it thus making it be surrounded by electricity and look angered: a thunderbolt fell down from above and impacted Freeze Man.

"Guoawa~h!" He growled.

"Hah! You're weak to Electric Battle Chips and you're standing in an "Ice Stage" so the damage inflicted will multiply per 4!"

Freeze Man's body began to form cracks and suddenly shattered just like glass: the orange mass hit the floor and suddenly gathered to give way to something else.

"It isn't him… Interesting. You've seen the flames of Hell, haven't you? So! Hurry up. Kill me."

"Crap. Fortune from _MGS2_: _Sons of Liberty_!" Rock Man grumbled.

"You've been looking at that, right?" Netto recalled.

"Look. Her boss battle in the game is unique in the sense that _you can't beat her_. You have to play hide-and-seek and survive until the battle is interrupted by something else. So I guess the mechanic will be repeated: you can't hit her with anything." Rock Man explained.

"E~H?" Netto sounded terrified.

Fortune drew her rail gun and loaded it up: Cross Fusion Rock Man gasped and jumped into the ground to skid along it and hide behind some crates: he sighed in relief but then the top crate was blown up: he gasped and spotted how Fortune was focusing her shots towards him.

"Netto – kun! Don't remain too long in one spot! The rail gun is perfectly capable of blowing anything up due its high power. And wooden crates are easily broken! Look for something else!"

"Damn it! Sigaano! I'll get you for this!" He cursed.

"Hurry it up. Kill me."

"She is taunting me or does she really want that?"

"Well, she was supposed to be a tragic person… She thought she wasn't allowed to die by some higher power but reality was way different. Long story short: she was set up with a device to repel any bullets using magnetic shielding without her knowing that." Rock Man replied.

"Lovely. And what did she mean by "it's not him", anyway?"

"That you weren't Solid Snake, the one she believes to be the killer of her father… She said the same thing to the character who is the main protagonist of the larger part of the game."

"Che! That Sigaano…! I'll make him eat a hundred video-games boxes, just you wait!"

"Don't say nonsense, Netto – kun. Focus on surviving."

"Hurry it up! KILL ME!"

"Grah! Shut the damned trap up! Why couldn't you do this to Hiro instead of me? He's the diehard fan!"

18:25 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Achoo!"

"Are you alright? Hiro – kun."

"Someone's criticizing me."

"No wonder."

"What do ya mean by "no wonder"?"

"Stone Fall!"

"Damn!"

Cross Fusion Delta was facing Stone Man in an open spot of a forest somewhere: his design looked very similar if not identical to Netto's with the only difference being the jet black and silver color pattern instead of sky blue and navy blue.

"Proto – sama's will shall crush you lowlifes!"

"And here I thought he couldn't speak normally."

"Guess they bothered to fix that."

"Laser!"

A small stone statue emerged from the ground and opened a mouth to shoot a red laser beam towards Cross Fusion Delta who barely dodged: Hiro cursed under his breath.

"No more hide-and-seek, big mean guy! Battle Chip, Drill Arm! Double Slot In! Eat this!"

Cross Fusion Delta jumped into the air and then landed atop Stone Man's head which he then began to drill: Stone Man growled but some orange mass suddenly began to seep out and formed an eye: Cross Fusion Delta gasped and couldn't react as the "eye" shot a powerful laser which impacted his lower jaw: he lost the balance and met the ground: he managed to sit up and rub his aching parts while groaning and cursing under his breath.

"That of "laser eye" wasn't expected." He muttered.

"…"Expect the unexpected"..." Delta quoted.

"Where did you get that from?"

"SWAT." Delta quickly replied.

"SWAT, huh?"

"Hoh, hoh, hoh… You lowlifes cannot defeat Stone Man – sama just like that!" He laughed.

"Shaddup." Hiro grumbled.

"Leave it up to me." Delta whispered.

"Whatever strategies you draw up are futile!"

"I wonder about that."

"Wha~t?"

"Bite me!" Hiro taunted.

"Why, you…!"

Stone Man ran towards them but suddenly stepped into a mine and it took out one of his four legs: he tried to recoil but found another two mines which wounded him further and he growled.

"You lowlifes…!"

"Now! Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon! Eat this, sucker!" Hiro exclaimed.

He formed the Giga Cannon Program Advance and shot it towards his head: the explosion took the head out and the body began to delete while he sighed in relief.

"Those toys are too much for you lowlifes… Return them to me!"

"Oh damn. Ganondorf from _Time's Ocarina_… His very first human appearance…"

"Hah, hah, hah! Hah!"

Ganondorf hovered into the air and suddenly formed a sphere of energy on his right hand which he threw at Cross Fusion Delta: he drew a Long Sword and bounced it back at the origin: the game repeated another four times before Ganondorf was hit and he collapsed into the ground: R Hiro then tried to deliver some slashes but he gripped the Long Sword and shattered it before beginning to strangle him.

"Hand it over, brat!"

"Don't have… the Triforce… you moron…! Eat this…! Battle Chip… Tank Cannon!"

"Ugo~h!"

The blast pushed Cross Fusion Delta backwards due to its recoil and he coughed while Ganondorf crashed with a tree and then collapsed into his knees while grumbling under his breath.

"Ugh… Agh… Sigaano! You've gone too far!"

"My bad. I just happened to have had a look at the soon-to-be-published _Hyrule Historia_ book and found out about a 3rd timeline: I guess there'll be a forum war over the reason it happens." "Gufuu" replied as he showed up in hologram format.

"What? You mean…?"

"Yessir. If the hero doesn't succeed in defeating Ganondorf and he achieves the whole Triforce then the 3rd timeline kicks off with the Sealing War, _Triforce of the Gods_, _The Dreaming Island, _both _Mysterious Nut Chapter_ games, _The Legend of Zelda_ and _Link's Adventure_. But I believe some had thought about it. If only Miyamoto – sama had not decided to make so many changes to _Time's Ocarina_ given how it was supposed to be the "Seal War" to begin with…" He detailed with a shrug and without sounding concerned.

"Lovely. I got spoiled." Hiro grumbled.

"Yeah. I did, too."

"Gruh… This isn't over yet! I'll destroy you lowlifes!"

"Jeez. Stay dead! Battle Chip, Hell's Burner!"

"If ye play with fire ye get burned." "Gufuu" laughed.

Cross Fusion Delta used a flamethrower-like weapon which hit Ganondorf: he roared and his body began to be set on fire: the "skin" was peeled away revealing the orange mass with all of its "eyes", nerves and needles beneath it: the mass caught fire as well and emitted a long and ear-piercing shriek as it died down.

"Good job. May I show you how your companion is doing like? Maybe you will be surprised." "Gufuu" made a mock applause.

"Shaddup."

"Do look."

A holographic screen emerged to show Cross Fusion Rock Man still struggling to try to hit Fortune with the Hells' Burner without success: Fortune shot him straight on the chest and he yelled as electricity travelled across his body.

"Netto!"

"Rock Man!"

"Hi-Hiro?"

"Netto! An Electric Chip! Use it! Fry the shield! And then you can hit the thing!" He called out.

"HURRY IT UP! KILL ME~!"

"That loud volume sounds out of character. Sounds exaggerated." Delta muttered.

"Battle Chip, Elec Pulse 3, Hell's Burner! The end!"

The Elec Pulse 3 disabled the device and then Cross Fusion Rock Man finished her off: "Gufuu" giggled and vanished with both Cross Fusion users sighed in relief: both had been close encounters.

18:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hah, hah, hah! I shall turn you lowlifes into nutrients for the flower garden, I, Plant Man – sama, by the will of the Great Proto – sama, have created!"

"Shut up."

"Enzan – sama. This enemy is vulnerable to Flame Battle Chips, sir. It would be wise to exploit this weakness, sir."

"How foolish!"

Cross Fusion Blues was facing off against Plant Man in the IPC's tower rooftop.

His helmet design was almost identical to Blues' but his shades were more transparent than Blues' own: the silver hair came out from behind the helmet and reached all the way to the ground.

His design had red armor over his upper torso and shoulders while his main bodysuit color was a mild blue color with tints of grey to it.

His emblem was set on the middle of the armor and two white patterns climbing up towards the edges of the shoulders were drawn there.

His arms' skin coloring was divided in two: the upper half was colored in a gray/blackish color while the lower half was tinted mild blue while red armor formed over his forearms with one small wing-like formation set over the wrist: the armor around it had two round white bands reinforcing it plus a piece of bodysuit over the hand's palm: the emblem was drawn there too

The rest of his bodysuit until the hips was colored in that combination of mild blue and grayish/blackish color running down the sides of it: there was a red triangle drawn over each hip before his boots began at a slightly lower spot: an amber-colored diamond surrounded by black edges was built over the knees plus two extra white bands of armor around the knees themselves: the front edge of the boots was colored white and it had a golden rim marking the border between both colors.

"I, Plant Man – sama, will destroy you in one attack!"

"Delta Ray Edge!"

"What!"

"Hrah! Hah! Hrah!"

"Uwa~h! YOU LOWIFE~!"

Plant Man got three cuts on him and was then propelled towards a spotlight-post by the red triangle: he growled and looked angered while Cross Fusion Blues was calm.

"The end. Battle Chip, Hell's Burner!"

"GUWA~H! MY PRECIOUS GARDE~N!"

Plant Man was burnt into cinders yet the orange mass remained and gave way to a new enemy.

"You lowlife… Glad ya made it. The party's gonna start…"

"Who's that?"

"I do not know, Enzan – sama, sir, but his suit looks like a bomb blast suit which bomb deactivation police units use."

"My name's Fatman! The highest and lesser man in this world!" The man announced.

"Fatman? But isn't that…?" Enzan wondered.

"… The name of the bomb dropped in Nagasaki, sir…" Blues calmly confirmed.

"Heh, heh, heh. If you want the details, you can always bother to ask Akashi, Ijuuin. Just that you know…" "Gufuu" told them as he showed up next to Fatman.

"… I and only I am the fitting candidate to be at the top of the bomb-world!" He exclaimed.

"You look like a mad bomber to me."

"… Wrong…! I'm an _artist…_! That's what makes me hate those stiff military jerks! Alright! Time's up! Let's begin the party already. Listen! I'll be laying bombs which will be set to explode after some tens of seconds. If you don't wanna have them explode then ya gotta disable the bombs! _Laugh and grow fat_! Alright! Let's go!" Fatman told him as he hid behind a water turret and had tossed his cup of wine with a straw into the ground in a fit of anger: he then sounded amused.

"What? How do I disable them?"

"There, Ijuuin."

"Gufuu" signaled what looked a spray can with the label "COOLANT" into it: Cross Fusion Blues picked it up and looked at it.

"This coolant can can instant-freeze C4 Bombs so that they're unable to explode in the next 24 hours." "Gufuu" explained.

"And do I win by freezing all bombs?"

"Nope. You have to attack him yet that suit is bullet and explosion – proof: use your head."

"Very funny."

"Wha, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

Fatman began to move around using skates and "CF" Blues was trying to find the bombs: he spotted one right next to the water tower so he froze it with the coolant spray: Fatman suddenly drew a Glock pistol and began to shoot at Cross Fusion Blues yet it had no effect: he then skated away after planting another bomb.

"Wha, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

"No more hide – and – seek! Flame Sword! Eat this!"

"CF" Blues drove the Flame Sword into the suit: he was unable to cut through all of its layers but he set it on fire: Fatman growled and broke down into raw mass which burned away: "CF" Blues heard a beeping sound behind him: there was an ever bigger bomb behind him.

"What in the… Coolant spray!"

"Good work, Ijuuin. And don't keep Ms. Lucy waiting. Tenishi is impatient to let you play with his superb body."

"Shut up already!"

"The silence league sponsors you, my chums?"

"What silence league? It's but crap!"

"Someone might object."

"Oh yeah? Who?" "CF" Blues skeptically demanded.

"Serenade."

"Sheesh. Don't mix things up. Serenade likes silence because it helps to meditate! But that and being part of some "silence league" are two things apart!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Better call your corporate lawyers."

"Hmpf." Blues scoffed.

"Ah… Hit a vibe. I see, I see. Excellent, excellent."

"What? You lowlife!" Blues growled.

"Quiet, Blues! This is my battle." Enzan ordered.

"Roger, sir."

"Oh well. As I was saying… Mr. Shoes ate up 7 and a half shoes in 66 seconds the other day around."

"What kind of random crap is that?"

"Bubble Man – sama's newest slogan."

"Sheesh." He slapped his forehead in exasperation.

"Oh well. They're waiting for me elsewhere so… _Ciao_."

"That rascal… I so wanna erase that smug smile from his face!"

14:44 PM (Moscow Time)…

"… Scope Gun!"

"Eat this! Hah! Bomber Man – sama is invincible!"

"Laika – sama! We need a new strategy, sir."

"Acknowledged, Search Man."

Search Man was facing the former WWW Net Navi Bomber Man inside of a system that had the Sharo Army logo on the background.

"Hah! What can a Sharo Nation Military Navi do against the invincible Bomber Man – sama?"

"Shut up." Laika grumbled.

"Hah! Eat this!"

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"

"Take this!"

"Guwo~h!"

The rounds of the Mugen Vulcan hit Bomber Man's chest and he was pushed backwards as they pierced his armor and destroyed his Net Navi body: the orange mass then gathered to give shape to something and Search Man aimed his Scope Gun at it.

"… So! Decide! Rendition…? Death…? For all of Sharo Nation… Life…? Or, rather, Death…?"

"May I introduce you to Zant, Usurper Shadow King?" "Gufuu" showed up on the scene to make the introductions.

"Usurper King, huh." Laika muttered.

"Yessir. And he will show you his powers."

"I am impatient to see them."

"Heh, heh, heh. Go, Zant!"

"Hah, hah, hah, hah! Shadow Boomerangs! Shadow Swords! And my God has only one desire… For "Light" and "Shadow" to become a unique "Dark"!"

"Che. Bothersome!"

Eight Boomerang Battle Chips colored black formed around him and began to shoot towards Search Man while he leapt into the air and drew two black-colored Long Swords: Search Man rolled across the ground to dodge and drew a Samurai Sword Battle Chip.

"Y-you damned… TRAITORS!" He suddenly cursed.

"Hmpf." Search Man was unimpressed.

"Eat this!"

Search Man easily fended off his attacks by skilled and combined use of the Samurai Sword and his Scope Gun to shoot out the boomerangs and stop Zant from hitting him: he began to make hysterical shrieks and dance around the room as if he was going crazy.

"This farce has lasted long enough. Battle Chip, Hell's Burner. Burn them up, Search Man."

"Roger, Laika – sama. Hell's Burner!"

"Kya~h!"

"Crispy."

Zant and the orange mass which made his program up were incinerated and nothing was left behind: "Gufuu" sighed and made an exaggerated shrug before smiling.

"By the way, _Commander_ Laika… Ms. Orstof is waiting at the front door to bring you to Orstof Club in her limousine."

"Huh? Ms. Orstof?" Laika looked surprised.

"Boris went there two days ago and ended up refreshed. Maybe you can ask the details to him?"

"Boris… Boris Kranov? How did you know he's one of my bunkmates? Even though I technically am the Commander of the Network Unit, I still interact with others like I was a recruit." Laika frowned.

"Heh, heh. Oh well. Use your head for a bit. The rest is up to you, _Commander_ Laika. Beware of the _douraks_."

"How funny." Search Man drily replied as he aimed his Scope Gun at "Gufuu".

"Beware! Someone might plug it with a cork!"

"As if someone would do that."

"Bubble Man would."

"Who?"

"Bubble Man: owner of Bubble Man's Workshops!"

"I heard about that from Ijuuin… A former WWW Navi who's been left alive because he's small, idiotic and powerless. Apparently, Wily wanted to use the guy as a trap to make any attackers think the rest of the lot would be that weak, get cocky and then get busted when faced with the real deal." Laika drily muttered.

"I see. But that has no relevance right now… Laika – sama."

"Of course not. Anyway. You. Gufuu. What are you up to?"

"Me? Oh well. Ask Hollywood. And the scriptwriters' guild."

"Very funny." He wasn't amused in the least.

"Beware of the upcoming gambling fever. Comrade Boronov might start it up soon enough." He chuckled.

"Boronov… Not the guy again…" Laika grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. He who warns a traitor is not, Soldier – sama!"

"What a damned sneaky bastard…! Let's go back to patrolling, Search Man! I'm fed with this farce, I really am!"

06:49 AM (New York Time)…

"… Screen Divide!"

"Great Sword!"

"Go, Colonel!"

"Roger!"

"Hah! Sword Man – sama won't be beaten _that_ easily!"

Colonel was having a duel with Sword Man inside of an Ameroupe Army system.

"Hah, hah, hah! Taste despair!"

"Don't let this Navi intimidate you, Colonel."

"Like I would."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Sword Man – sama's combo attacks are unbeatable! Sword Press!"

Sword Man floated into the air and then dropped down thus provoking a shockwave: Colonel jumped into the air and then drew a Tank Cannon Battle Chip which he aimed at Sword Man's red head: Sword Man gasped but had no time to maneuver.

"Colonel Cannon!"

"UGA~H!"

The blast hit the read head and made it jump off the body along with its "sword body" so the yellow head replaced it.

"How dare ya! Great Sword!"

"Colonel Cannon!"

"KYA~H!"

The yellow head was met with the same fate to the blue head had to replace them.

"What idiots! Hra~h!"

"Hah!"

"Ugya~h!"

Colonel drove his sword into the chest and made it emerge from the rear: the orange mass began to spur out and Sword Man's body broke down to give way to the new form.

"I decided to stop with the rip-offs and provide you with something slightly more interesting, ya see." "Gufuu" giggled.

"I am Shadow Colonel. Nobody beats me!"

"What!"

This "Shadow Colonel" had been painted black and gray with white hollow eyes unable to display emotion: his teeth had been switched for fangs and his sword shone with a purple glow.

"Enjoy."

"Damn you!" Colonel cursed.

"Shadow Colonel Cannon!"

"Dream Aura!"

"Che."

"Hmpf."

"Shadow Screen…!"

"Slow. Colonel Cannon!"

"Uga~h! You lowlife~!"

The real Colonel hit the "Shadow" impostor while he was preparing to attack him: he then rushed forward and attached a mine to his chest armor before jumping back and detonating it: the explosion took out the fake's armor and set him on fire: he growled and tried to put it out somehow.

"Gruwa~h! Not yet! Shadow Colonel Army!"

Three soldiers popped out of the ground and began to shoot at the real Colonel: he merely tossed his cloak into the air which landed atop the fake and rushed forward while driving his sword through the earlier wound: the fake was deleted along with the orange mass.

"So?" Barrel taunted "Gufuu".

"Bravo." He made some sarcastic clapping.

"Che." Barrel grumbled.

"How many of these are left?"

"Hard to say, hard to say… The Japan guys are pretty busy with them so I'll go see how they're faring like."

"Not so fast." Colonel aimed his sword at him.

"Fine. Let's chat about parrots."

"Parrots?" Barrel frowned.

"Simpson Jr.!"

"Not that guy again…! He's always trying to sneak prohibited materiel into the base and I always have to scold the guy. I'll have to demote him from Sergeant to normal soldier at this rate!" Barrel growled.

"And Burns, that man's Navi, doesn't help either." Colonel grumbled next out of built up exasperation.

"Burns! It burns through my soul!" "Gufuu" giggled.

"That your best shot?" Barrel was unimpressed.

"Maybe yes maybe no. Ask Palpatine! Heh, heh, heh."

"Get out. Now." Colonel drew the Colonel Cannon.

"Delighted. _Bye-bye_!"

"Damned meddling rascals!" Barrel cursed aloud.

18:57 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Glyde Cannon!"

"Blizzard!"

"Roll Arrow!"

"Worthless, all of them! Beast Man – sama will make mincemeat of these weaklings!"

Glyde, Roll and Ice Man were facing Beast Man somewhere within Internet City and they didn't seem to be faring well.

"Nyah, hah, hah! Beast Man – sama's superb power is unrivaled!"

"Yo! Gramps! Eat this!"

"Guwa~h! Who the hell!"

"Rafael – kun!"

Rafael had showed up and was hovering into the air a few centimeters over the ground while using both guns to bathe Beast Man in a continuous barrage of bullets thus forcing him into defending position: Beast Man growled and turned to face him but that proved to be fatal.

"Blizzard!"

"Roll Arrow!"

"Glyde Cannon!"

"What! My feet! Damn it!"

Ice Man had entrapped his feet on ice so that both Roll and Glyde could attack him at the same time on his back: he was obviously forgetting about Rafael who was heading towards him while loading up his guns: he placed both barrels on Beast Mans' upper torso: Beast Man lowered his sight and gasped.

"Eat this! Charged Guns!"

"Guwa~h!"

Two powerful white lasers cleaved through his body and he roared as he violently swung his claws around: he managed to break the ice and jumped for Ice Man.

"You lowlife die firstly~!" He roared.

"Glyde Cannon!"

"Roll Arrow!"

Beast Man was caught off-guard by the two attacks and stunned: Rafael suddenly placed the guns' barrels on his back.

"Charged Guns! Bye, gramps!"

"Gruwa~h!"

Beast Man broke down and suddenly transformed into a monstrous spider with a gigantic eye on its main body: the group gasped as the spider jumped into the air and began to crawl up a building.

"There is Carapace Eye Shelled Gohma. Boss of the Time Temple in _Twilight Princess_… Try to find a way to defeat it without counting on the giant statues and the hammers they have!" "Gufuu" announced with a reverence from atop a building.

"Eat this!"

Rafael tried to shoot at him but "Gufuu" calmly used the mantle to bounce all shots off: Rafael growled and looked annoyed.

"That was unfair, gentlemen."

"Don't provoke the guy, Rafael!" Noa warned.

"Sure, sure." He grumbled.

"Ki~h!" Carapace Gohma shrieked.

"Guts, guts! Guts Man – sama to the rescue! Guts Hammer!"

CRASH!

"Whoa!"

Guts Man suddenly dropped down of nowhere and hit the ground with his hammer: the shockwave made the building rock and the spider collapsed face-down in the ground: Red Sword suddenly jumped down from atop another building and drove a Flame Sword into the belly: the spider shrieked and caught fire.

"Die, _Lord of the Rings_ rip-off." He grumbled.

"My, my. So you didn't find it amusing to have to battle a copy of Blues who turned into a monstrous version of yourself, Red Sword?"

"You know the answer." He shot back.

"Although I must clarify that Ookarada is late for the party: I rang him up because we were missing one actor. I believe the "Hunters' Guild" trio is facing off against Flamed Winged Dragon Nardobrear by now, boss of the "Sky Capital"… The Secret Area trio is having some slight trouble handling Great Ice Cluster Freezernya. The _Three Musketeers_ are tasked with bringing down Ancient Beast Hara Zigant. I didn't give them a Net Navi to fight… They've taken down Flash Man, Drill Man, Desert Man, Star Man, Gravity Man, Quick Man, Knight Man, Magnet Man and Pharaoh Man by now and so I conjured these bosses to save up time." "Gufuu" calmly listed.

"Hmpf." Red Sword was unimpressed.

"I'll go visit the _Maha Ichiban_'s folk. It'll be amusing to see if they can take down what they built."

"The Dream Virus, you mean?" Roll guessed.

"My. Bravo, Ms. Roll."

"So! What side are ya on?" Meiru questioned.

"… Hmmm… Hard to say, given my position… But the way I see it "male comradeship" is amusing… Or also "female CO"…" "Gufuu" rubbed his chin, amused.

"Hmpf. That's fine for me. Remember, Tooru – kun… We've got a meeting this Friday! So don't try to skip it up."

"_Hai~_… Sakurai – san…"

"Well then… I will be going. I think I am not forgetting anyone else besides the Maha Ichiban's staff… All secondary Net Navis are unrelated to this affair… And included on that list are Shark Man, Wood Man, Skull Man, Snake Man, Thunder Man and Gate Man… Ah! My bad. Zero is fighting Bright Man and will have to face his "Dark Side" when he brings him down: I was forgetting him. And I spoiled you gentlemen, too!" He snickered before vanishing.

"What's "spoiling"?" Dekao asked Hikawa in a whisper.

"That you got told the movie's ending before seeing it!"

"Ah! The rascal! Fight me!"

"Like you actually care." Meiru dully muttered.

"Wha~h!" He cried.

"Fake tears, alright." Yaito muttered.

"Dekao – kun…" Hikawa sighed.

"What do we do?" Tomono asked.

"Ignore the Fatman!" Meiru fumed.

"Now, now. Ladies and gentlemen. Let us calm down!" Glyde tried to cool it down before it got worse.

"Don't mind it, Glyde! It's fun!" Rafael giggled.

"I don't see the fun on it." Roll fumed.

"Desu?" Ice Man wondered.

"Guts, guts?" Guts Man wondered next.

"Let's go, Yaito – chan! Time to have some strawberry milk."

"Sure thing, Meiru – chan! Tee, heh, heh."

"Trouble, trouble…" Roll sighed.

19:07 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Fire Tower!"

"Ball!"

"Elec Beam!"

"Magic Fire!"

The four former WWW Net Navis were fighting against a rebuilt Dream Virus: most of it was composed by the orange mass and its right arm had a creepy – looking eye on its shoulder while tendrils of the orange mass popped out from several spots in the body: the thing had gained two large wings protruding from its back and its rechargeable aura had been improved to withstand 200 Health Points of damage.

"What an aberration!" Hinoken uttered.

"It's uglier than my aunt." Madoi muttered with obvious sarcasm.

"_What_? You have an aunt, Madoi?" Count Elec asked.

"Who hasn't?" Maha added with a hint of sarcasm.

The Dream Virus roared and shot a laser beam from its right shoulder eye at the four Navis, who dodged: the two Net Police detectives were looking on through the holographic screen outputs.

"Battle Chip, Magma Seed! Slot In!"

"Battle Chip, Count Bomb! Slot in!"

"Battle Chip, Super Vulcan! Slot In!"

"Battle Chip, Aka Tsunami Hole! Slot In!"

The four attacks hit the Dream Virus fully and it roared as it began to catch fire because of the magma pool which had formed beneath it.

"Group attack!" Maha commanded.

"Roger!" The other three confirmed.

"Double Fire Arm!"

"Elec Beam!"

"Fire Tower!"

"Magic Fire!"

The four attacks managed to set more of its body on flames as it shrieked and emitted guttural sounds: the pool had grown enough so that the Dream Virus began to sink into it and stopped around the waist.

"We did it!" Everyone exclaimed.

However, the Dream Virus' eyes shone purple and it began to move its wings: it detached its lower half and floated high it the sky: as a result, a lot of the orange mass came out from the hole on the waist and formed two large legs with sharp claws.

"Or maybe we didn't." Everyone gulped.

The Dream Virus screeched and dived toward the group of Navis: everyone jumped asides just as the Dream Virus swept the ground in which they had been standing a minute ago.

"_Damn_! _By George_! What do we do to take it down?" Count Elec cursed.

"If we could take down his extremities…" Madoi suggested.

"Then, I have a plan!" Maha announced.

"You do?" Hinoke asked.

Maha smiled and inputted some commands in the Link PET.

"Go for it, Magic Man!" He commanded.

"Magic Shadow Clone!"

Magic Man divided into four and the "Magic Shadow Clones" jumped towards the Dream Virus while taking out their Magic Sabers: each one stabbed the Dream Virus in different spots and jumped down: Magic Man then reverted to being one again.

"That's all?" Count Elec sounded disappointed.

"We've barely reduced its HP!" Hinoken grumbled.

"Yeah. That was lame." Madoi muttered.

"Wait and see!" Maha commanded.

The orange mass began to rot and assumed a blackish-like color: the wings seemed to lose strength and the legs began to tremble: the Dream Virus shrieked and hit the floor with a loud CRASH sound.

"Attack it now!"

"Double Fire Arm!"

"Fire Tower!"

"Elec Beam!"

"Magic Fire!"

The Dream Virus caught fire again and its orange mass extremities began to jump off it, charred: it soon was no more than a few fragments of raw data floating around and there was no trace of any orange mass remains.

"Wow! We did it! Just what did you do?" Hinoken whistled in surprise.

"_By George!_ That was _amazing_!" Count Elec grinned.

"So it was." Madoi admitted.

"I used the vaccine program the Science Labs distributed. This mass acts like an organic virus, right? This vaccine is designed to cause _apoptosis_ on them: their cells began a chain-reaction self-destruction and eventually corrode." Maha explained with a big smile.

"Man! What a brilliant plan!" Hinoken looked quite surprised.

"Thank you."

The three of them plus the two Net Police detectives clapped in admiration while Maha made a gallant reverence: the Navis chanted to celebrate their victory as well.

"Splendid."

They all gasped and spotted "Gufuu" floating in the air 5 meters over the ground and looking at them.

"Shadow Man just took Bright Man and Multiple Touch Class Octaeel down… And Zero has succeeded, too. This is enough for today, so we'll be waiting for you to try to come at us. We'll be waiting for you tomorrow afternoon. Heh, heh, heh." He announced.

"_What a jerk_!" Count Elec cursed.

"Burn 'im, burn 'im!" Hinoken exclaimed.

"He's uglier than my uncle." Madoi sarcastically told him.

"Indeed." Maha muttered.

"My. What compliments."

"Those weren't compliments!" Magic Man protested.

"Who's gonna compliment you?" Elec Man questioned.

"A crazy guy, I'd say!" Colored Man told him.

"Totally." Fire Man grumbled.

"You can't escape the Net Police forever!" One detective told him while brandishing the right fist in a menacing move.

"Yeah! Give it up!"

"Give it up? Ah… You have no idea of who you're facing, do you? I only need a few hours' time and I can set the whole world's Network into utter chaos thanks to Proto. I'd be rather careful if I were you, Net Police gentlemen!" "Gufuu" told them with a smile.

"Yikes!" Both gasped.

"Uh-oh." The Navis and the Operators looked nervous.

"Well then, farewell it is. Enjoy these 24 hours of interlude before the final battle rolls on!" He laughed.

19:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf. So it did not work yet we weakened them and drove them to their edges… When will Rock Man come?"

"In 24 hours."

"Why 24 hours?"

"He needs to recover and has… other duties… to attend to."

"As Hikari Saito?"

"Ah. You've done your research."

"Hmpf. I figured it out by stumbling upon a pirate copy of Vadous' HDD in a Netherlands server."

"Gufuu" had come back to the Graveyard and was talking with Corruption who looked somewhat amused.

"He isn't underestimating your power, yet he doesn't want people to figure out his double identity so he'll attend school."

"Fine. I shall not forcefully drag him here, either. I will use this time to customize myself a battle form yet do not set your hands on me: I will do that on my own. Understood?"

"Perfectly. I'm going to check on Proto to make sure the integrity of the container hasn't decreased over the years of storage at the Science Labs without anyone caring to check it out."

"Hmpf. One day Proto – sama shall be resurrected… And His will shall be finally accomplished! As for you, Rock Man EXE… Come at me! I shall use the power of Proto – sama to bury the "Light" you are and awaken the "Dark" which you thought you had buried…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Scary enough. Well then… See you around"

"Gufuu" vanished while Corruption walked over to a column split in four pieces, stepped into the center and closed it around him while laughing in an evil tone of voice…


	13. Chapter 13: Final strike

**Chapter 13: Final Strike**

18:45 PM (Japan Time), Thursday October the 6th…

"… Team A: all ready. Team B: status report."

"Team B: all ready."

"Team C: all ready."

"Team D: all ready."

Rock Man and Omega were standing in front of a firewall which was obviously built on the outer perimeter and Omega was apparently coordinating with another two teams: explosives had been placed on the firewalls which looked like C4 bombs.

"Alright. Team B is Sigma and Blood. Team C is Blues and Search Man. Team D is Rafael and Delta." Omega muttered.

"Finally…! We get to take Corruption down…!" Netto muttered.

"Yeah. It's time to bring a halt to the danger he poses: the Z – Nation survivors will come later." Omega replied.

He glanced at the explosives rigged to the firewalls that were already counting down.

00 H: 01 M: 01 S

Everyone remained silent and checked their weapons and Battle Chips all over again: this was the calm before the battle.

00 H: 00 M: 05 S

The timers soon hit the zero mark and the bombs detonated in simultaneous explosions taking down the three layers of firewalls from all sides at the same time.

"GO!"

"Roger!"

"Here we go~!"

The eight Net Navis rushed into the core area where "Gufuu" was giving them the back and looking towards a central column surrounded by orange mass and which was glowing with energy: he chuckled and turned to face them while having a psychotic look to his face.

"Welcome, Excellencies! You're just in time to be greeted by the _Shuuen no Mono_."

"And he wants to rule the Network?" Omega guessed.

"Yeah. Obviously."

"Then we should translate the meaning as "Tyrannical One" instead of "Apocalyptic One"…" Omega muttered.

"You will find another one soon enough if you bother to wait until November the 23rd and beyond… Heh, heh, heh."

"Where's the ugly guy?" Rafael asked.

"If you mean Mr. Corruption he is putting the finishing touches to his new form, his battle form… And he is eager to test out the power of Rock Man over there… And the little gift from _aibou_ as well…"

"Little gift from _aibou_?" Rafael wondered.

"_That_, huh…" Netto muttered.

"Huh? Will someone brief me in?" Rafael requested.

"You'll see during the battle, rookie."

"I'm no rookie! I've passed the "A" License Exam!"

"Bravo. Then you are one step close to joining the "S" Club."

"Bring it on, gramps!"

"Did you forget? This is but an avatar, a proxy body. I am using a laptop in the real world to interact with the Cyber World."

The column suddenly began to glow in an intermittent way: it broke into four pieces and some smoke came out from the inside.

"Hah, hah, hah…"

A blood red circle was drawn around the column and where Rock Man was at: a transparent barrier rose up and repelled the other Navis thus leaving Rock Man inside who didn't seem to be impressed by the setting of the battle.

"Witness… My new evolved form!"

The smoke cleared and everyone gasped.

"Hah, hah, hah…"

Corruption's appearance had changed in a dramatic manner: two orange wings emerged from behind his body to begin with.

His helmet's forehead shape changed and gained the drawing of a unicursal hexagram colored green on it with some runes set on the circle's rim.

His left forearm had gained a white and blue gauntlet over it while he held a fiery whip on his right hand.

Claw toe fingers emerged from his feet the armor of which had turned black and they looked thicker.

His body colors were now a mix of purple and black as well.

Overall, he looked both stronger and creepier.

"How is it? Feeling the fear, new generation Net Navis?" He challenged them.

"Tell that to a kid." Netto challenged.

"Ironic! To think I would have to face those who have inherited the blood of Proto – sama's creator… But that is fine for me. I shall prove that my power is far above yours!" Corruption laughed.

"I will be watching on along with the stowaways." "Gufuu" smiled and glanced over his right shoulder at something.

"Stowaways?" Delta wondered.

"Kratins Boo, Moonie and Sunny." Omega grinned.

"Che!"

"Whatever. Just don't move from there: we outnumber you guys 2.3 VS 1, ya know." Omega warned.

"No – one shall get in the way, Rock Man EXE! If you want to leave then prove your power!" Corruption announced.

"Let's go all out, Rock Man! Are you ready?"

"I'm ready, Netto – kun. Let's do it."

"Soul Unison: Vadous Soul! Slot In!"

"HRA~H!"

Rock Man's chest emblem began to shine and his body was surrounded by a purple-colored mass of energy: streams of purplish light began to jump out of his body next.

"Rock Man's energy levels are increasing… past calculation!" Search Man reported.

"That's impossible!" Laika sounded stunned.

"Is that even possible?" Enzan wondered.

"I think so, sir." Blues confirmed.

"Whoa!" Both Noa and Rafael uttered.

"Coming!" Hiro muttered.

"_That_ fearsome power…!" Delta added.

"Let's see _shachou_'s program in action, guys."

Blood Shadow and Sigma gasped and looked tense: the Z - Nation trio also looked while Moonlight was seemingly doing some calculations.

"Commander, sir! The power is off-readings! Completely!"

"What in the world is that power?"

The light dimmed to reveal how Rock Man had gained a new purple armor with black patterns over his bodysuit.

His helmet had gained a terrific-looking faceplate two crimson-colored hexagons were set over the eyes while the nose and the mouth were covered by a triangular piece which had a matrix of vertical and horizontal straight lines on it the design of which looked reminiscent of a gas mask's filter.

The armor included a black metallic belt with a round central point having the Hikari family crest drawn into it plus two decorated sword sheaths attached to both sides of it.

The whole thing looked like a spin-off of _Darth Vader_'s own design.

"Such… power…!" Corruption gasped.

"… Are you ready?" Rock Man's filtered cold voice questioned while accompanied by the breathing SFX.

"W-what? His personality looks different!"

"It is. A side-effect of this form…"

"… Vicious Fire!"

"Guwa~h!"

Rock Man suddenly signaled Corruption with his right hand's middle finger: black-colored flames suddenly formed all over his body and he roared in agony.

"Tidal Wave!"

A gigantic tidal wave washed Corruption until the hit the boundary of the battle arena: he growled and looked at how his whip no longer had flames on it.

"You lowlife… Eat whip!"

"Hmpf. Mighty Avalanche!"

"What!"

Some boulders of different sizes materialized on the air and dropped atop Corruption: he shattered them with his gauntlet which had formed an energy buzz-saw over it: he looked annoyed.

"Destroy Gauntlet!"

"… Unending Cyclone!"

A cyclone formed on the middle of the field and sucked Corruption it yet he managed to use his wings to control the movement and formed five missiles on a device over the palm which shot towards Rock Man: he merely drew both swords which were already frizzling with electricity and intercrossed them to form the shape of the Alphabet "X" letter.

"Double Thunder!"

A burst of purple electricity shot towards Corruption and split into five lassoes mid-way to intercept each missile: they joined back and managed to hit the gauntlet thus making it be electrocuted and be deleted: Corruption growled and dropped into the ground in front of Rock Man to try to hit him with the whip yet Rock Man merely let it coil around one sword before electrocuting him.

"Impossible! I am… losing? Impossible!"

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

"What! How dare you, Rock Man EXE!"

"…Hmpf. Do not underestimate the power of the "Dark Side" of the "Force"…!"

"Oi, oi…" Blood Shadow muttered.

"Ops. Sorry." Vadous muttered over the radio.

"You programmed that while you were pushing yourself again, right, _shachou_?" Omega sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Please don't mind it, Vadous – san! We can handle this."

"Light Beam!"

Rock Man holstered the swords and his hands began to glow with an accumulation of white energy which he then projected forward and hit Corruption on several spots of his body even melting the armor and cutting through his flesh: he growled and jumped into the air while switching the useless whip for a sword having a hilt and blade: the blade was colored orange.

"Demon King's Sword!" He exclaimed.

Flames formed on the sword and he aimed it at Rock Man's feet thus setting the stage on fire: Rock Man merely jumped into the air and didn't seem to care.

"Is that all?" He taunted.

"Damn you!"

"Dark Cluster!"

Rock Man formed purple spheroids on his hands which then built up into a large purple spheroid: he shot it forward and it glued to Corruption's torso thus adding weight to him and making him fall into the ground in a totally unceremoniously manner.

"Damn! Tank Cannon!"

The blast hit Rock Man and did get to push him back but he didn't seem to mind it all: he merely made a low chuckle sound.

"You want more? I'll give it to you. Time Flow!"

A phantom hourglass colored purple was drawn over Corruption's blank chest emblem and his movements began to slow down: Rock Man then landed in front of him and delivered an array of punches to him thus pushing him back: he didn't seem to mind how Corruption reformed the "Demon King's Sword" and tried to plunge it into his chest emblem only to get stuck when it'd barely gotten inside.

"The end."

"What!"

"Infinity Seal!"

"Guwa~h! I-impossible… my body… is turning heavier… slowing down…! I am Corruption…! I cannot be defeated….!"

"Then become my host!" A voice rang out.

"It wasn't me." "Gufuu" quickly lifted his hands as if to show he didn't have anything on them.

"Of course it was not you lowlife. It was me. I shall copy your body and I will have one more to use in the future. Your consciousness shall be annihilated yet I only need the body!"

The purple-colored Quick Man dropped into the area and laughed as he gripped the now turned-into-stone Corruption, turned him around and morphed his forearms into wires which attached to the body: purple flames surrounded both of them.

"Copy complete… Remember, Incarnation of Light! This "hatred" and "grudge" shall chase you lowlifes and make you painfully wander a blood-smeared "Dark Sea" for all eternity!"

"Damn! Nebula Grey!" Vadous cursed.

"And I am speaking to you lowlife, too! Sith!"

"I am not a Sith and never was!" Vadous growled.

"Sith, Demon Tribe. It does not matter. You pursued "evil" and it was engraved within your consciousness and body yet you somehow purged them. But that past will painfully chase you forever!"

"Grah! Get outta here already!" Vadous snapped.

"Hmpf! Farewell, you bunch of mortal fools! Let "evil" be engraved within you three and become the new bringers of chaos!"

"Rock Man! Finish the guy off!"

"Roger."

Rock Man began to build up a cluster of black energy on his hands and aimed for the frozen Corruption.

"CHAOS… BEA~M!"

The "Chaos Beam" turned out to be a highly concentrated beam of blackish energy which shook the air on its wake and opened a crevice on the ground: the "Chaos Beam" then impacted Corruption fully and continued _past him_ so "Gufuu" had to jump outta the way: the "Chaos Beam" finally halted upon hitting a large gravestone and blowing it up while Corruption was roaring as his body broke apart.

"IMPOSSIBLE~! PROTO – SAMA'S RULE~…! WILL COME TO… HAPPEN… NO MATTER… WHAT YOU… DO…! UWA~H! GLORY TO… THE GRAND… PROTO – SAMA~…! GRUWA~H! THIS IS NOT… OVER…! I WILL… COME BACK… TO HAUNT YOU… ONE DAY~…! GU… GU~H…! KU… KUWO~H! PROTO – SAMA WILL… RULE IT ALL… AND THE WORLD SHALL… BE SET… WITHIN _HIS_ HANDS! MWA, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HA~H!"

Corruption's body was finally deleted and all presents turned white (Netto included) at the trail of destruction left behind: even "Gufuu" looked nervous as he looked around: the Z – Nation trio were already stepping back like they wanted to get outta there right now.

"R-retreat!" Kratins Boo commanded.

"R-roger!"

"By all the… _Aibou_! What a thing!" "Gufuu" told him.

"Well? Do you now think I was kidding back then?"

"Not anymore, I'll admit that."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Go on a trip. I'll leave you guys alone for a while. But I will be back and bring a new _scenario_ with me… And my avatars are untraceable too! Farewell, _aibou_!"

"Gufuu" covered his body with the cloak and vanished.

"Rock Man? You alright?" Rafael asked.

Rock Man didn't reply and he merely slowly turned around before he collapsed face-down into the ground while the "Vadous Soul" broke down into data which reformed in the shape of a Battle Chip having a purple circle with the purple-colored Alphabet "V" letter inside of it set against a black background: the Chip then vanished while everyone rushed over to Rock Man who happened to be snoring.

"Whoa." Rafael muttered.

"The only drawback to this form… He has to sacrifice a high amount of HP to use the "Chaos Beam"…" Vadous admitted.

"No wonder." Search Man muttered.

"Yet, even without that power, he managed to get so far…?" Laika muttered.

"Yeah. Blame it to some kind of luck which chases them in any Net Battle they do." Enzan shrugged.

"I would rather say they did a good teamwork, sir." Blues ventured.

"Well… That's rather true, yeah…" Hiro muttered.

"It's not something I'd like to have, though. I'm glad as I am." Delta admitted.

"I feel the same, truth to be told." Tomono confessed.

"He'll be alright with some hours' rest." Blood Shadow told them.

"That's Rock Man for ya!" Sigma grinned.

"Yeah. He'll be looking forward to the next battle."

"Rock Man! Plug Out!"

"Let's head back, too."

"Roger! Let's make a party!" Hiro grinned.

"_It's party time_~!" Omega laughed.


	14. Chapter 14: Towards a new period

**Chapter 14: Towards a new period**

11:08 AM (Japan Time), Friday October the 7th…

"… Fua~h… All's over at last! Now we can focus on the everyday stuff and… Oi, Tooru – kun! What's up? You look down!"

"Is something troubling you?"

"Eh? Ah… No, not at all… Thank you."

"Meiru – chan has been having you paint her room all over again or what all Fridays?"

"No, no… It's nothing, really."

"Eh… Hikawa – kun…"

"What's up, Noa – kun?"

"Would that be… _you know_?"

"… Well… But Sakurai – san is the CO, so…"

"Ah. Man. You're not very lucky, are you?"

"Not really… Ayanokouji – san always pulls a prank on me, too…"

"Oi, Tooru! What are ya doing to Meiru?"

"It's not what _I_ do to _her_ but what _she_ does to _me_…"

"Huh? What?"

"Dekao. Reality is knocking at the door."

The guys of class 2 – A were chatting around Hikawa's desk during break time given how he looked nervous and uneasy: Dekao butted in without having paid proper attention and now everyone directed bored glares at him making him blink.

"Whaddya mean?"

"We mean that you stop butting into this stuff and care for your own belly, Dekao." Hiro grumbled.

"Wha~t?"

"Else why would you _always_ forget to put your name in everything you hand over to the teachers?"

"They should recognize the great me's perfect grammar!"

"Perfect grammar? Don't make me laugh, Fatman."

"Yikes!"

Dekao turned around to see Meiru standing on the threshold while folding her arms and looking unimpressed: Yaito was standing next to her and giggling while having a smug smile on her face.

"You're a mere bully."

"E~H? NO WAY~!"

"Way."

"You're kidding!"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"EH… No, no…"

"Then shut up."

"Crap."

Meiru sat down on her post and so did Yaito: Meiru signaled for Hikawa and he sighed as he walked over to her desk and stood at the side like he was waiting for her to say something: instead she handed him a piece of scrapped paper with something written on it and he looked at it before pocketing it and sitting back on his chair.

"Sorry, guys. I can't go to the Game Center with you today. I've been appointed." He apologized.

"Oi, Meiru! Just don't break him." Netto called out with a hint of concern to his voice.

"Who do you think I am?" She dully replied.

"Tooru – kun's CO, we know that."

"Good. And Yaito – chan over there is the sponsor."

"Yessir!" She grinned.

"_Hai, hai_…" The group (except for Dekao) dully muttered.

"MORTADELO~! FILEMÓ~N!"

"They've gone off to the bar to have some _tapas_ courtesy of Mr. Felipe, Mr. Super."

"Again to the bar? GRJFTX!"

Everyone gasped and looked at the blackboard which was displaying the word "M&F SAMPLE 01 WMA" in red Alphabet letters.

"Hic! W-were 'ere, Mr. Super! Hic!"

"Y-yeah! Hic! W-what's the j-j-job?"

"You useless drunkards!"

SPLASH!

"There! Now listen! Your job is to locate Felipe Calderón's stolen magical cauldron and bring it back to him - IN ONE PIECE!"

"R-roger."

"Wait! I'll provide you gentlemen with newest invention, the "Cauldron Detector" and… What's with those looks?"

"That guy! Bacterio again!"

"Ms. Ofelia… Please leave."

"Roger. Those two won't change, anyway. Oh dear."

"I dunno what's going anymore." Hikawa muttered.

"I get that feeling, too." Tomono admitted.

"So?" A voice asked.

"So… What?" Netto frowned.

"What did you gentlemen think of my little experiment?"

"That was an experiment?" Saito wondered.

"Heh, heh, heh. Run out through the evil and repulsive door."

"Huh? And where's that?" Dekao asked.

"In your belly, Ookarada!"

"Wha~t?"

"Hmpf. Good motto." Meiru grinned.

"Heh! Take that, Ookarada!"

"… Alright. Where's the berserk giant Mettool?"

"I don't see it anywhere, Sir Omega."

"Come at full power!"

"Ah. The audience has come."

"What the… Tabby – chan. It's your work again?"

"Omega… I thought I'd left it clear that I dislike that nickname. It lowers the grandness of my real name. And it makes me feel annoyed, you know that…" Sigaano sighed.

"What! That's Sigaano!" Saito gasped.

"You lured us here on purpose?" Blood Shadow guessed.

"He wants a kick-ass!" Sigma laughed.

"I have a friend of mine here which wants to play with you guys. I've been saving him up."

"Damn." Omega cursed.

"Onaagon Onaagis!"

"The Pac – Man thing!" Tomono gasped.

"Enjoy."

"Plasma Shot!"

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"Mwa, hah, hah, hah… Demon Rings!"

A holographic screen popped out into the air to display how Omega, Blood Shadow and Sigma were facing off against the orange-colored Pac – Man two meters tall: Omega shot his plasma round, Blood Shadow attacked the left flank at close-quarters and Sigma sprouted some bluish thin rings which closed around Pac – Man's body and electrocuted the thing: "Gufuu" was looking at it while having a smug smile on his face and floating high in the air.

"Onaagon Onaagis!"

"Shut up, mirror – something. Hra~h! Hah! Hrah! Hoah! Huh!"

"Gruwa~h!"

Omega dashed forward and began a combo of sword attacks: he slashed diagonally, upwards, downwards, diagonally, left, right and finally jumped upwards while driving his sword through the frontal part of Pac – Mans' body: he landed atop it and plunged the sword atop him while running downwards: the result was that Pac – Man began to rotate upon his axis as Omega run him down and finally jumped off: Pac – Man split into two halves which met the ground.

"How was that one like, Tab – chan?"

"Not bad. Good thinking, Dave."

"Huh? Who's Dave?"

"Ask Snake."

"Solid Snake?"

"Yessir. Dave & Hal. Wanna travel to Jupiter?"

"That rings a bell." Omega muttered.

"Hmmm… _2001: A Space Odyssey_, right?" Blood Shadow recalled as he brought the left hand to his chin.

"Yessir! Correct! You get _this_ as prize."

A plushy of Blood Shadow showed up on the Cyber World and everyone looked surprised: "Gufuu" made a reverence.

"Well then… Let us meet in about… One month's time. I shall have wrapped up a little something by then, I hope. And tell the TIA guys I sent greetings. Heh, heh, heh!"

His avatar vanished just as Rafael, Roll, Glyde, Guts Man, Ice Man and Delta rushed into the area guns drawn.

"They told us there was something going on here!" Delta exclaimed while he looked around.

"Tab – chan brought Pac – Man along but I fired the guy: have a look behind me." Omega calmly shrugged.

"W-whoa!"

"If you'll excuse us, then we'll be going. See ya around." Omega grinned at the group.

"Eh… Hello."

"Whoa! Beta X. It's been a while!"

"Beta X? Did Zarashe send you?"

"Yeah. He wanted me to ask something."

The Navi named Beta X appealed as being over a meter and sixty tall, maybe closer to a meter and seventy.

His eyes' irises were blood red in coloring but they lacked pupils: his facial expression denoted a good mood.

His helmet's main color was black as well yet he had some blue pieces of armor built around the edges of it and spanning through the middle of the helmet.

A red pyramidal jewel aiming downwards (similar to Omega's) had been set directly above his nose.

The helmet included five extensions shaped like wings and colored white plus a golden edge: two formed on the lower edge of the helmet, another two formed at a height over the eyes and the last one sprouted from the middle of his helmet while aiming upwards.

His main body's color choice was black: he had a white piece of armor set over the chest which contained a ruby jewel and two wing-like extensions spreading across the torso until the shoulders: the Alphabet letters "BX" colored golden were set within a piece of armor located over the upper edge of the ruby.

A golden edge surrounded his neck and formed a small collar-like object around it: his shoulders had white armor over it: three thin spear-like extensions formed behind them and gave off the impression of a wing as well: the uppermost piece was golden in coloring while the other two pieces were white.

His arms' skin was black until the elbow: white armor encompassed it and extended until the hands and fingers: a golden ring served as additional protection for the wrists.

The rest of his upper body had no decoration whatsoever until the hips, where the leg armor began at: a golden edge in the shape of a triangle marked the start of it.

The rest of the legs' armor was painted using white color palette: the knees had extra armor over them and two small wing-like extensions.

Golden pieces of armor showed up over the ankles yet there was a space between them and the legs: they were bent upwards to form a triangle and included the wing shapes on their edges.

His feet's armor included two pieces of outer edge and another two pieces which were separated by a slight space between the front and the rear.

Overall, his appearance was reminiscent of a "fallen angel" given the color motifs and all the winged extensions.

"What's up?"

"Can he come to visit tomorrow?" Beta X asked Netto.

"Sure! He's always welcome." Netto smiled.

"Thanks." He formed a smile.

"So! My friend! We'll meet at the court!"

"Huh? Who are you?"

"Gufuu" had suddenly reappeared behind Beta X and looked slightly amused while Beta X frowned.

"I'm SIgaano Nogaano."

"And why do ya want me to come to court? I was there."

"You stole my motif." He announced.

"Huh? What motif?" He frowned.

"The "fallen angel" motif." "Gufuu" told him.

"What, you can shape-shift?" Beta X tried to guess.

"No. This is but an avatar. I'm somewhere in the real world."

"What!"

"Maybe _you_ should pick up the "Lesser Angel" title so that we avoid this little quarrel between both of us?" He grinned.

"Whatever. You're creepy." Beta X grumbled.

"Of course. I'm everywhere. I can see that you're thinking of going to the Cyber Cinema on your way back." Sigaano chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. Very original, gramps." Rafael told him.

"Well then… Ookarada! _Laugh and grow fat_!"

Dekao's jaw hit the floor as everyone looked at him and "Gufuu" vanished with a giggle…

11:25 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So that Sigaano is leaving us alone for a while? Good. Then we can focus on trying to round up that trio."

"Yeah. The problem will be locating them or try to guess what they're gonna do now that Corruption is no more."

Forte and Zero were talking in a corner of the Official Square while Net Navis walked up and down it.

"Hmmm… Maybe they'll try to start up some kind of mercenary or guerilla group to one day overthrow the now democratic Z – Nation and turn back to the regime era. We should reinforce defenses but even if they try to slip inside through the military network, given its broken state, they can't get anywhere at all." Forte guessed.

"Good thinking. But that'd be too obvious. Yet I'm sure they're too prideful to steep so low as to become mere mercenaries, hired guns or proxies. Maybe they'll step into conflicts by taking no sides just for the thrill of it, too." Zero suggested.

"Forte. Ms. Lucy wants you to come and see Ijuuin playing with Tenishi there, at her club."

"Alright, I'll be going and…! Wait! Who's that "Ms. Lucy"? Aren't you mistaking the guy, Zero?"

"It wasn't me. That lowlife did it."

"Sigaano!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Stop trolling at us with your non-existent clubs!"

"Then go check out how Ijuuin takes out his weekly frustrations on Tenishi 'cause he wants to know what it means."

"HUH? I doubt Ijuuin being that type of person and I don't know who "Tenishi" is. Go play trumps with a ghost and leave us alone already, you jerk." Forte grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Oh. But maybe one day Ijuuin will finally admit what has been burning up inside of him…"

"I dunno what you're talking about, really." Zero grumbled.

"I don't think you'd get it but maybe Forte would. Anyway… I invoke the plot!" He suddenly announced by lifting his arms and looking towards the "sky" of the square.

"The plot?"

Both looked upwards and saw nothing: when they lowered their sight "Gufuu" was nowhere to be seen and two _chibi_ dolls of both Forte and Zero had been left on the ground: both grumbled and didn't seem to like the joke at all.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmmm? Blues."

"Zero. Was Sigaano here?"

"Yeah. He tricked us and fled. He's badmouthing your Operator so you can charge him with defamation and insults. He claimed he's a sadist who takes out his frustration on guys over at Ms. Lucy's club."

"WHAT? AH! THE LOWLIFE!" Blues growled.

"Welcome to the club." Zero sarcastically told him.

"Someone called me?" Enzan asked over the screen as he drank some hot chocolate.

"_Hyouzan_ – chan!" "Gufuu" exclaimed off-screen.

"Iceberg, me? Who goes there? Huh? No – one? I ain't an iceberg!"

"Enzan – sama, they fooled you, sir."

"Damn them! Sigaano! I'll bring your company down!"

"He doesn't have one to begin." Forte and Zero muttered.

Enzan cursed, Blues sighed and the other two rolled their eyes…

18:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So! How does it feel like? Don't say you didn't want this, Drake, or else why were you drilling yourself when I arrived?"

"Y-you should've warned you'd come back, Hiro – kun!"

"Heh, heh, heh. I suspected you were doing it. Weren't you yearning for my cock? Here you have it. It feels good, right?"

"A~h! S-somewhat, b-but…!"

"The reason I immobilized your wrists with these handcuffs is so that you can't try to stop me this time around. Come on! I've been waiting for this ever since way over a year ago and holding back."

"A-alright, but… O~h! D-don't rub my nipples like that… I'm getting overwhelmed!"

"And excited. Look hard your cock is!"

"Please… rub it, Hiro – kun!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Like I thought… You wanna be the masochist this time around and I the "slight" sadist…"

"A-as long as you don't go past this…!"

"Of course not. I'm a nice guy."

"Please…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright. I can see you need it."

Hiro was making out with Delta atop the bed: he'd pulled up his shirt and lowered his shorts and boxers until the ankles plus cuff his hands: the chain was attached to the bed's railings: he thrust his cock into Delta's ass while rubbing his nipples: Delta sounded overwhelmed as Hiro closed his right hand around Delta's cock: he rubbed it and teased the head.

"Hi – Hiro… kun…! No good…! I can't…! Don't tease… the head… like that!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Here it comes!"

Delta cried and suddenly released with some vigorous spurts before he stopped and panted: Hiro picked some of the white stuff and licked it with his fingers.

"Hmmm… Not bad. Let's see how you handle _this_."

Hiro spread Delta's legs wider and then pulled him closer: he sat on his knees with his cock still inside of Delta and began to thrust inside at a quick pacing: Delta moaned and sounded overwhelmed while Hiro closed his eyes and grinned as he arched his body backwards.

"Coming!"

He released inside of Delta and let out a large sigh of relief as Delta panted and looked tired already.

"What… Tired? Come on! Check me out."

Hiro took his cock out, rubbed it, and then pushed inside of Delta's mouth while gripping his head from behind: he set a pace and grinned upon feeling how Delta was eagerly following the pace.

"Heh, heh! I knew it: you _like_ this! You've been waiting for this… I'm sure you have fantasies about us every afternoon! Coming!"

Hiro released and took the cock out to see how Delta was panting yet his mouth was still filled with white stuff: Hiro suddenly kissed him and began to link his tongue with his while he rubbed his cock against Delta's one: they both released and broke apart while being linked by a white string of saliva.

"Hi – Hiro… kun… Uh…"

Delta suddenly began to snore and Hiro looked surprised but giggled and hugged him as he pulled the covers over him: he then took the handcuffs off and tossed them into the ground as he licked Delta's nipples in a slow and methodical manner.

_We're just getting started, Delta! We're gonna have a lot of fun from now on. Heh, heh, heh! I'll love hearing you beg for more: you're an entertaining guy!_

18:15 PM (Japan Time)…

"… You _love_ doing this to me, don't you, Saito – niisan?"

"Heh, heh, heh. Yeah. It feels good."

Netto was facing the ceiling while being face-up on his bed reading a _tankobon_ and trying to ignore how Saito was using his right foot's finger (still having the sock on) to rub Netto's cock: Saito looked amused while Netto was sighing.

"Whatever… Not like I don't mind doing it normally but ever since ya got the idea by looking it up on a perverted site…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Well! We're heading towards a new period. Or is that a way too _clichéd_ line?" Saito giggled.

"Guess so. And let's hope Meiru doesn't break Tooru – kun."

"I think Yaito – chan might be setting the limits."

"Surely… I'd rather not go through that. She must take out all her annoyance in Tooru – kun."

"Obviously… Well then! Here it comes!"

"Ugh! Coming!"

Netto gasped and suddenly released: Saito quickly picked some of the white stuff with the fingers and licked them clean while Netto brought up his boxers and school pants: he closed the zip and tied the belt before resuming reading the _tankobon_.

"Good. Now we can focus on the exams we're gonna have in the days to come." He calmly commented.

"Sure thing, _otouto _– chan!" Saito teased.

"Jeez. Please stop calling me like that: I'm not a 5 year old kid."

"Tee, heh, heh. _Let's rock and roll_!"

Netto rolled his eyes while Saito giggled…

17:24 PM (Taiwan Time)…

"… This is supposed to be the place. Stay alert. Sigaano could've led us into a trap for all we know."

"Roger, _taichou_ – dono!"

"No, this ain't a trap. It's me."

"General!"

"General, sir!"

"What were you muttering about Sigaano?"

"He told us where you were at, sir."

"What? Damn. The guy knows everything or what?"

"It'd seem so, sir…"

Kratins Boo, Moonlight and Sunlight made it to a discrete Cyber World somewhere and were greeted by a holographic screen of General Sentou who looked slightly annoyed at the news.

"Corruption was…"

"I know. I've been monitoring what's happened."

"And Rock Man had…"

"I told you: I saw it. That's why I was convinced the Montserrat ploy to get out hands on the brat was a good idea."

"But with Sigaano leaving they will turn our attention to us. How should we proceed?" Kratins Boo asked.

"Easy. We'll become a militia! The Z – Militia! We'll get military information and sell it at the highest bidder… And as long as we act outside of Japan, on discrete spots and quickly then nothing will be able to stop us! Mwa, hah, hah!"

The three Navis were surprised for a second but then grinned and began to laugh aloud as well…

6:55 AM (Bermuda Time)…

"… Hmmm? An email from "Superintendent Vincent"…? Who's that? Wait, is that Sigaano?"

"Uncle Tabby?"

"Oh. Shut up."

"Yessir! I'm going off through the Malignus Repelignus Door!"

"The malevolent and repulsive door? What silliness, really."

"What cleverness, really, Grand Moff Zataki."

"QUIT IT ALREADY~!"

Vadous had been working with his laptop when an email icon popped out in the desktop: he realized who the send was but then Omega showed up to troll him.

"Go to your capsule - NOW!"

"Roger, Colonel Moran!"

Omega ran off while Vadous made sure to lock the door before sitting down and checking the contents of the email.

"… "Dear _aibou_. It's been a while. You thought SSRM had finished me off yet he was unable: Fate has given me a chance yet I now have to balance two fronts. Like you do, yet my "B Front" is somewhat rather different and more amusing than your "A Front"… I'll get to my point: this is a challenge to you, _aibou_. Try to study my moves and try to realize how hard I am struggling to ascend above that automated and useless "Duo" which my "Creators" revered as their ultimate creation while I was a mere failed project… One day I shall show them how wrong they are. "Very well then. Deny me. With that friendship…" … Enjoy!" … Hum. So that's how it is about… _Tabuu_! No more playing by your rules. From now on we'll play with MY rules and that means no more nicknames!"

Vadous leant back on the chair and intercrossed his fingers while his eyes said it all: he was up to the challenge…

23:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. Your rules, _aibou_? Let's make a cocktail outta them, shall we? Yet I won't spoil what's to come in the near future. I'm off to monitoring my "B Front" for a while. They need some action even though things have been rather intense there given how _you don't exist there_, _aibou_! I, Tabuu, have overcome the normal time-space and proven one of the many theories regarding the scope of the Universe!"

Sigaano or, rather, Tabuu, was standing in the wrecked room while having both hands in the jeans' pockets and looking at the moonlight coming in through a hole on the ceiling: he was in the middle of it and he was smiling even though the cap hid his sight.

"I don't care what the Z – Nation guys do but I won't tell you where they are either. They're side-dishes before we bring in the _main dish_ which I'll bring after some brainstorming. Maybe it's about time to storm brains, even? Heh, heh, heh. Omega would love to use this joke."

He lowered his sight and shrugged his shoulders as he walked back to the desk and picked a travel suitcase.

"All's set. I'm leaving in another few minutes. And I don't mind using this dusty place as hideout: I guess _aibou_ has totally forgotten about it by now and mustn't think a man like me would come to such a wreck. The best hiding place is the less obvious one. Sometimes it's fun using human instinct against them. Heh, heh, heh."

He then muttered something in a low tone of voice before a crack formed in the middle of the air and expanded into a fissure colored white and emitting a white glow from inside of it.

"Fossa Ambience opened… And now I shall be leaving! Enjoy this interlude before Act 2, ladies and gentlemen! Tabuu, the Nomad Emissary, shall return! Expect me to show up sometime in November! Hah, hah, hah!"

Laughing, he stepped into the crack and it closed just as a cloud hid the moon: his chuckled echoed into the empty room…

**THE END**


End file.
